"Mr. Malfoy, what do you think you are accomplishing by tossing Bicorn Gob into Mr. Potter's cauldron?"

"Sir?" Draco's eyes were confused and panicked once he realized just how hard Severus was gripping him.

"Answer the question Mr. Malfoy, or we will be here all day until you do."

Draco knew better than to lie to his godfather. He knew full well that his father had given his head of house full rights to punish him as he saw fit until he was the perfect young heir his parent's envisioned him to be. He swallowed hard and said hesitantly, "I was trying to mess it up sir."

Severus released Draco's wrist and strode to the front of the room where he beckoned Draco to stand in front of the blackboard, chalk held out for him to take.

Draco moved like molasses, and Severus fought himself to hold in a sneer. "Lines Mr. Malfoy, until the end of class.

"What am I to write sir?" he asked, turning pale as his classmates started to snicker behind his back. Severus noted that Potter looked positively pale as well.

"I'm to keep my ingredients to myself. I owe Mr. Potter an apology."

"Yes sir."

Draco set to work, again as slow as a sloth, and Severus cleared his throat before clarifying that if there weren't at least fifty lines by the end of class in forty minutes that Draco would be serving detention with Filch that night. Draco quickened his pace, neck and ears turning red, and Severus sat down at his desk, ignoring the looks of awe he was receiving.

"Move to Mr. Malfoy's cauldron Potter and continue his potion. Malfoy will be turning yours in for a grade since he added some of his ingredients to it."

Ron shot Harry an amazed look and Harry got up and crossed the isle to sit next to Pansy, who looked more than irritated.

"Waste of space," Pansy said under her breath, and Severus looked up to notice Potter turning red as well.

This was going to be harder than he thought. Getting the boy to think higher of himself and his needs couldn't just rely on one man's actions. At least it's a start, he thought, and went back to watching Draco write lines.

* * *

"Severus, wait up!"

He turned to see Minerva hurrying after him out of the Great Hall after lunch. He glanced around and noted that the Entrance Hall was empty aside from them because the students were still eating before their next round of classes.

"I've been meaning to speak to you about Potter's detentions."

He stood up straighter, narrowing his eyes, uncomfortably aware of what she was going to ask him. "In such a manner that you intend I should no longer punish him in a way he deserves?"

"You must have seen how hard he tries to stay awake during class. He's obviously having trouble sleeping and detention isn't helping."

"And he has been complaining of long nights spent in the dungeons?"

"No, but surely you can't expect him to keep up with his homework with detention every night?"

"Has he been falling behind on his work?"

"Not that I'm aware of Severus, but you're missing the point."

"I believe you are missing the point Minerva," he said.

"Regardless of personal issues or school work, he broke rules and will now pay the consequences. I myself have noticed improved alertness during class hours from the boy. Obviously he was only staying up too late and is now learning to sleep in what time is given him."

"And how is that, with you keeping him all night?"

"He has free periods between classes, does he not? And I do not keep him all night. If he does not return to his dormitory after I release him than it is further evidence that he needs to be punished in order that the lesson should sink in. Good day."

Here he strode away and down into the dungeons, wondering if he would get a chance to speak to Harry before his head of house caught up with him and started asking questions about where he went after detentions. Severus was not aware that Harry already knew, because he had been listening from the second floor, where he sat alone studying. Even McGonagall didn't see him as she strode by, deep in her own thoughts.

Harry frowned at what had transpired. Confronted with someone seeking the truth, Snape had lied to keep his secrets. He had even lied to give Harry more time to adjust to the potion and find a way to sleep through the night. He didn't deserve that kind of kindness, so why was he getting it?

* * *

Severus was surprised to find numerous new bruises on Harry's back and side that evening as he held the tin of bruise balm in his hand, ready to apply it. The old bruises were almost invisible now, but here were at least five new ones.

"What has happened to you?"

Harry turned red and rubbed the back of his neck. "Crabbe and Goyle happened to me," he said uncomfortably, wondering if the thing with Draco in class that morning had just been a fluke.

"Explain."

"They were pissed about me getting Draco in trouble so they shoved me down some steps outside the library."

"You did not get Mr. Malfoy in trouble," Severus said as he began applying the bruise balm again, Harry reacting by pulling away slightly as the tender areas were touched with the cold cream. "He was caught in wrongdoing and paid the price."

"Yeah well apparently his goons think lines are worth half a dozen stairs."

Severus sighed and handed over the tin so that Harry could take care of the bruises on his stomach and arms himself. "Lines were worse than detention for Mr. Malfoy because it was a public display of punishment. He was embarrassed and the lesson will stay with him longer."

"Yeah, well how come I never get lines? You think I think I'm so great, so lines should be just right to embarrass me into submission."

Severus noted the foul mood of the teenager and decided to discard his own negative reaction to it. In truth he didn't know why he'd never given the boy public lines when he had in fact thought of the boy as an attention-seeking brat, much as Draco often was. Perhaps somewhere deep down he never truly believed that about the boy.

"I do not think that about you any longer. When you're done with the salve do your homework and take the potion I measured out for you on the nightstand. Be sure to occlude your mind before you try sleeping." He rose and left the room and Harry sat there for a few minutes thinking before he continued to rub the salve onto his arms. Had Snape just tried to reassure him that something wasn't his fault? It obviously was, because if he had been paying attention than Draco wouldn't have gotten one over on him. Harry closed his eyes and shook his head sitting in silence for a moment before pulling out his books and quill and setting to work on a nasty essay for History of Magic.

It was only ten minutes before Snape opened the bedroom door without warning and said hurriedly, "Go to dungeon A and start scrubbing the floors, now."

"Why, what have I-"

"Nothing. Mr. Weasley has just been caught sneaking around and I'm about to give him detention where he will see you scrubbing floors. Now go."

Harry pulled his sneakers back on and hurried out of the quarters and down the hall to the supply closet where he grabbed a bucket and some rags and ran to classroom A, one of the smaller rooms. He filled the bucket with water with his wand and began splashing some water around in various areas, wiping them up quickly with the rags to make it look like he'd been cleaning for an hour already.

It was only a few moments before Ron entered the room cussing and muttering and explained to Harry how he'd come down looking to sneak him out of detention but he'd been caught by a seventh year Prefect and been hauled to Snape's office for a good chewing.

"It was like he chewed me up and spit me back out again. Evil he is. I tried to explain that I'd forgotten something but he'd have nothing of it. Rotten to the core."

Harry tried to nod in agreement but was having a hard time with it. Snape seemed awful nice lately. Perhaps he had always been nice and Harry had just always deserved to be treated so poorly. He had seen the man give out just detentions before anyhow, case in point Draco with the lines.

"At least Crabbe and Goyle got in trouble too," Ron said with a grin of satisfaction. "They got chewed out right after I left. I hung around in the hall for a minute listening before I heard someone coming and had to haul my arse here."

"Crabbe and Goyle got in trouble? What for?"

"For shoving you I guess. Seems that another professor saw it happen and tattled. Made it so he had to give them detention. They're scrubbing dungeon D right now."

"Well it ought to be clean enough already," Harry said, remembering that he'd supposedly been having detentions for almost a week now. "I scrubbed it enough times."

Harry stood up, body hurting from the new assault it had received from being hurtled down the stairs, and yawned. He'd already taken the dreamless sleep potion and wanted to go to bed and make what little use of it he could.

"I clean really well so Snape doesn't usually come back to check on me for a long while," Harry said. "I can usually snag a nap after I mop once and I set up charms in the hall to let me know he's coming."

"Smart," Ron said picking up a mop and wetting it in the bucket. "Too bad Fred and George hadn't thought of that before. But maybe he sat and watched them the whole time."

"Yeah." Harry had just leaned against the desk and crossed his arms when the door flew open and the Slytherin Prefect who had caught Ron sneaking around stood there looking smug.

"Slacking are we Potter? Better come with me so Professor Snape can put you to better use. I think he had some slugs that needed pickling."

"Wait," Ron said, holding up his hand. "I was slacking too."

The Prefect smirked. "Nice one Weasley, but the floor is all wet and you're holding the mop. Get back to work."

Ron scowled as the older boy lead Harry away. After being deposited into Snape's office unceremoniously, the Prefect was told to patrol the second and third floors and was dismissed.

"Go back to my quarters and finish your homework Potter," Snape said sounding tired.

"But Ron-"

"Is serving detention for wandering the halls at night, and now I must stay in my office until I release him."

"What will you tell him when you let him go without me?"

"That you are writing an essay in my office about slacking, and until it is satisfactory you will be staying there to finish it. Now go before I change my mind and make you write the essay to give him as proof."

"Yes sir," Harry said, turning to leave.

"But sir, what's the password?" Harry turned back around, realizing that until now Snape had always let him in by saying the password very quietly so that Harry couldn't hear it.

"Gryffindor."

"Seriously? But why would you-"

"Can you imagine anybody figuring out that password if they were to try sneaking into my quarters? No. Now off with you." He grabbed a stack of papers that needed grading and Harry moved off.

Sure enough, the password was Gryffindor, and he was admitted into the quarters, curious that he now held a valuable and well guarded secret of Snape's. Did he really trust Harry that much to give the password to him? No, he couldn't. Perhaps he'd change the password in the morning.

The next evening however when Harry was sent to Snape's quarters by himself because Snape had to stay to supervise detention again, Harry was surprised to find that the password was still the same. He was rattled by it and he wasn't sure why, which lead to another broken and uneasy sleep, where a faceless enemy taunted him and handed over legal papers to the Headmaster that proved how worthless Harry truly was.