Severus couldn't help but wonder why this kept happening to him. This was the second time in as many weeks that the boy had run off on him. Holding Draco by the collar of his shirt - the last thing he needed was to lose them both - he half walked and half jogged in the direction the witch had indicated. As he got closer, he saw that someone was holding Harry by the shoulders. His hand moved instinctively towards his wand but several strides later he recognized the figure to be Sirius Black.

He'd never been happier to see the mangy mutt in his entire life.

Sirius, however, didn't look particularly happy to see him. He touched the child's face where a rather ugly bruise was forming. Clearly, Draco had won this particular fight. The other man's eyes were narrowed at Severus himself, however, and he asked, "What the hell is going on, Snape?"

Severus put together the accusation and snapped, rather insulted, "Oh, please spare me your accusing looks. These two idiots got into a fistfight and then this one ran off when I was dealing with Draco."

Sirius sighed and put his arm around Harry, gently scolding, "You can't run off, Harry. You of all people know that it's not safe. What did you get in a fight about? That's not at all like you."

Harry was silent, looking down at his feet, and Draco was silent, glaring at Harry. Severus said to break the tension lest the boys try to kill each other again, "What are you doing here, anyway, Black?"

"I'm here with Vanessa," he said, his arm still slung casually over the shoulders of his godson.

Severus frowned, "Who's Vanessa?"

"My lady friend."

"Ah," Severus said simply. He didn't keep up with the other man's 'lady friends.' He wasn't sure that Black even could keep them all straight. Severus glanced over at the abandoned 'Vanessa' who didn't look very happy.

"Hey, kiddo, do you want to come home with me for a little while?" Sirius asked Harry.

Harry nodded, then shook his head, and then shrugged. Severus wondered how one child could be so complicated. Severus interjected, "I'm not sure that's a good idea. I think I'll just take him home."

"Come on, Snape," Sirius said, "It'll give him some time to cool off while you take Draco home since clearly this outing is over."

After a moment of thought, Severus reluctantly nodded. It was a sensible solution. Sirius steered Harry over to Vanessa, apparently to tell her what was going on. Severus watched them go and Severus felt a pang of . . . something. He knew for a fact that he and Harry would never be like that no matter how much they worked at their relationship. He shook his head as if to rid himself of the thought and apparated with Draco back to his house.

Narcissa was sitting at the kitchen table with Lily nowhere in sight. As they entered, she was pushing back the sleeve of her robe to look at a silver wristwatch which Severus had no doubt was the real thing. She looked up as they entered and frowned at her son's disheveled appearance. Severus said, by way of explanation, "The boys got into a fight. Draco has not been so kind as to give the reason for attempting to pummel my stepson."

She didn't seem particularly concerned and said rather breezily, "Well, boys will be boys."

Severus hated that particular phrase which he heard a lot from pureblood families trying to excuse the bad behavior of their sons. Personally, he felt that Draco deserved better than to have the expectations for him continually lowered. Not wanting to get into it with Narcissa, however, he didn't say anything.

Hearing his voice, Lily had appeared again from upstairs. She stood in the doorway to the kitchen and said, "Aren't you missing one?"

"He's with Sirius. I'm going to go fetch him right now. The boys got into a bit of a fight and it seemed prudent to separate them."

Narcissa cut in, saying, "We really must be going. Lily, just think about what I said."

With that she stood up and grasped her son's hand and they diapparated. Severus asked Lily, "What was that all about?"

Lily shook her head and said, "We'll talk about it later. Do you want to go get Harry? Was he alright?"

"Yes, he was fine. A bit of a bruise but other than that he seemed like he just needed a little air. I'll be back soon."

Severus apparated around the corner from Sirius' building and walked the block to get there. He pushed the buzzer next to the door. The door instantly clicked, indicating that it was open, and Severus supposed that they must have been waiting for him. He took the elevator up to Sirius' floor and found the door already cracked open. He entered the flat and Sirius waved him into the kitchen. He sighed, craning his head to see where Harry was, and reluctantly followed the other man. While they had come a long way toward having something of an understanding, the peace was largely dependent on limited interaction other than when it was necessary for Harry's wellbeing.

When they were both in the kitchen, Sirius said, "Well, did Draco tell you what the fight was about?"

"No," Severus said, "He wasn't speaking to me. He gets like that when he's punished. Why? Did Harry fill you in on the details?"

"Yes," Sirius was silent for a moment and then said, "He remembers who attacked him."

"Just now?" Severus asked, frowning.

"No, last night."

"That doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't he tell us?"

"He was under the impression you wouldn't believe him."

"That's ridiculous. Of course I would believe him."

"Apparently it was your good buddy Lucius."

Honestly, this statement did require Severus to suspend his disbelief. It didn't make sense that the man would hurt Harry. While there was certainly distance between Lily and the Malfoys, they had always been quite courteous to Harry. The child would not have any reason to lie, though. So much for the trust that Rebecca was hoping to build between them.

"Where is he?"

Sirius said, "In the living room. Snape? He really needs you to be supportive about this."

Severus walked into the living room where he found the boy sitting in one of the armchairs. He looked up when his stepfather entered and said, "Did Sirius tell you?"

"Yes . . ."

"I'm really sorry that it was your friend," Harry said with unnerving sincerity. It was such an outrageous statement that Severus would have laughed had the situation not been so serious. Did the child really think he would blame him for something that was so utterly beyond his control? Did Severus really take his side that rarely?

"Harry, if still alive, I assure you that he would no longer be my friend. I am sorry that I put you in danger by allowing him to be near you." Harry just looked away and Severus wondered if he should pat the boy's arm or something. Instead, he said, "We should go back home before you mother gets worried. I want to put some salve on that bruise, too. Does it hurt?"

Harry shrugged, "Not much."

Severus helped Harry up and nodded to Sirius who had apparently been watching the exchange with a rather unreadable expression. They apparated to the house where they found Lily picking up in the living room. She looked up when she heard the pop and smiled, "You both are so messy. Sev, you're getting nearly as bad as Harry."
Neither of them smiled back at her and her own smile fell, "What's wrong?"

Severus said as lightly as possible, "I need to talk to you."

He climbed the stairs and Lily followed him. When they were in the bedroom, she said, "Severus, what's wrong? You're worrying me."

"Harry remembered who attacked him on the path to Hogsmede. It was Lucius Malfoy. He hadn't said anything because he thought I wouldn't believe him which is . . . definitely something I think we'll have to discuss with Rebecca," he said bluntly.

Lily stared at him and then looked away. She sat down on the bed and shook her head at him, "Do you know what's funny? I was never afraid of you. Even when you were a deatheater with this horrible reputation and people said you had done all of these despicable things. I just had it in my mind that you would never hurt me. The thing I forgot was that when we were friends at Hogwarts you frequently hurt me; every single time you chose Slytherins and a misguided search for power over me and our friendship."

Severus opened his mouth to protest - because he felt that it was rather low to bring up his days as a deatheaters which she knew was a low blow and something he was sensitive about to this day - but she cut him off, "Let me finish. And it seems that since I let you get close to me again, you continue to hurt me and worse to hurt my son or at very least put him in harm's way because you can't bear to cut ties with your past."

"Well, I am sorry that I haven't provided you with the perfect marriage you had with James," Severus said hotly.

"It wasn't perfect, Severus, but at least I felt like we were always on the same side! At least I could trust that he had our best interests at heart."

Lily might have slapped him straight across the face for the effect that her words had. He said sharply, "You know, I never asked for this responsibility. I never asked to be charged with taking care of you and your son."

"You did, though," Lily was raising her voice now, "You might not have known what you were getting yourself into, but the moment you strolled into my hospital room the night after my life was turned upside down with my child in your arms who you had apparently taken care of for the night, you asked to get involved!"

"Well, believe me; I had no idea what a burden it would end up being!" Severus regretted the words the minute they left his mouth. He hoped he had not spoken loudly enough that Harry might have heard. He was ashamed that he had let himself react so badly but the mention of the later Potter senior still had the ability to put him on edge. Lily looked stunned, but not for long.

"I think," she said slowly, "that maybe you should go back to work. I'm not working right now so I'm more than capable of taking care of Harry myself. I need some time to think and I can't really do that with you here."

"That's what you want?"

"That's what I want."

"Fine."

Severus left the bedroom, slamming the door behind him and walked down the steps. He planned to make a quick getaway but was stopped by a voice from the living room, "Snape?"

He sighed with defeat and considered keeping going but he had recently came to the conclusion that he should try to be nicer to Harry because it was the right thing to do and not because he was trying to please his wife. He said, "What is it, Harry?"

"You and Mum are fighting?"

"We had an argument," he confirmed.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to Hogwarts. I'm horribly behind anyway and I know Minerva must be exhausted dealing with two houses. It's probably for the best."

Harry sighed and drew his feet up to his chest. Severus wondered again if the boy had heard what he had said. The child simply said, however, "There was another part of my memory but I don't think it could be right. I think the memory must be distorted somehow."

"What else did you remember?"

"Um, it seems like in my memory that Professor Quirrel was there. But that can't be," Harry looked at him for confirmation.

Well, the boy was just full of surprises. Severus told him, "I'll look into it."

SSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHP

Like promised, Severus immediately met with the headmaster who warmly welcomed him back until he saw how serious the potions master was. He expressed his concerns about the fact that Harry believed Quirrel was involved in the attack. Dumbledore was a bit skeptical and didn't want to confront one of his teachers with such an accusation unless they were sure. Severus was adamant that they should take Harry's claim very seriously. Never on their side, indeed, he thought bitterly.

Eventually, the headmaster agreed to go speak with Quirrel and asked Severus if he would like to come along. Severus declined and suggested that perhaps he should take Minerva. He felt a tiny bit bad that he kept piling responsibilities on the woman but he was so tired. He gratefully escaped to his chambers where he pulled a potion he had created in his deatheater days that was basically a fusion of a sleeping potion and the dreamless sleep potion. Very potent and powerful and it almost guaranteed a good night's sleep though the next day was usually quite hazy. He had relied on them heavily back then.

He took it and went to lie down. Staring up at the ceiling and waiting for the potion to kick in and knock him out, he couldn't help but think about his situation. In a way, Lily was right. Severus had hurt both of them by the sheer fact that he himself wasn't good at having healthy relationships with people. Maybe he was just one of those people who was meant to be alone. Maybe he was being selfish in pursuing these relationships. All those years that Lily could have been trying to find someone who was actually capable of making her happy and loving her son.

That was his last thought before he fell asleep.

SSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHP

When Severus woke up, he felt someone lying next to him. He sat up too quickly, causing him to get dizzy from the aftereffects of his potion. It was Lily; fully dressed and curled up on his bed. It seemed improbable and he wondered if maybe he had wrongly estimated the dosage of that potion and was now suffering from hallucinations. He reached over and touched her shoulder which was quite solid and at the touch she opened her eyes groggily and looked up at him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, "Where's Harry?"

"Sirius came to get him late in the afternoon so that they could go catch a movie. I told him that was fine as long as it was nothing violent or scary. Then Dumbledore came to get me so we could talk and I told Sirius just to keep him tonight." They were both silent for a moment and then Lily added, "I tried to come get you but you were really out. What did you take?"

"Just something to help me sleep."

"Sev," she said softly, "I'm really sorry about everything I said."

Severus changed the subject, "What happened with Quirrel? What did Dumbledore have to say?"

Lily shifted in the bed to face him more fully, "Well . . . Quirrel apparently was involved in the attack. It was discovered that he has been working with You-Know-Who."
Severus blinked, "You-Know-Who is dead."

Lily looked so tired, "Dumbledore said he has a few theories but he didn't want to share them quite yet. He said that You-Know-Who actually attached himself to Quirrel. Minerva especially looked very shaken. They have him in containment. A very powerfully warded cell. It seems that You-Know-Who's magic is weak and he's mostly been fueling himself off of Quirrel."

Severus was horrified by the prospect that the man - no that creature - could still exist in any manner. He said, "Surely they mean to destroy him."

Lily sighed, "You would think so. Dumbledore is concerned, however, that since killing him didn't work the first time, that it might be ineffective the second time. And if he found another way to come back, he would not be so careless and we might not know until too late. Worse, he thinks that Harry somehow has something to do with it. A prophecy he told me about that said somehow Harry is supposed to be the match of You-Know-Who. Which is ridiculous because Harry is a little boy."

This was a lot in information to take in and Severus closed his eyes as he tried to think. Lily, apparently thinking he might have fallen asleep, prompted, "Severus?"

Tiredly, he said, "What do you want from me, Lily?"

He could practically see her pursing her lips in disapproval even with his eyes closed. She said, "I want - Severus, look at me - I don't want Harry involved with any of this which I informed Dumbledore of. Whatever some prophecy says, he will have a normal childhood. Even if I have to take him away from here. I gave Dumbledore fair warning that if he so much as mentions any of this to him that I will pull him out of Hogwarts so fast it will make his head spin. I don't believe this family owes the wizarding world anything else. I want you to say that you're on the same page as me. And if Dumbledore asks you to do any work for him outside of teaching that you'll say no."

A beat of silence and Severus said evasively, "Dumbledore has done a lot for me."

"Right," Lily said pointedly, "but he's not your family."

"Are we back to being a family now? I thought you needed time to think. I thought I couldn't be trusted."

"We had an argument, Sev. We never stopped being family. And I said I was sorry."

"I've been thinking Lily. I don't think some time apart would be a terrible idea. Things have been going on like this for a while. I've just realized how many problems we really have."

"So your solution to run away?" He eyes flashed in the dim light of the room.

"My solution is to give both of us a chance to breathe and think about what we really want."

"Fine," she said icily, standing up out of the bed, "Take all the time you need, Severus. While, I'm sure, that we're just supposed to wait until you make up your mind whether you want us or not."

SSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHP

Severus had been teaching for about a week and a half. He was playing major catch up to figure out where Minerva had gotten in the lesson plan and finishing grading the work that had been done lately. It was a relief to be so busy and not have to dwell on his domestic problems. He had just enough time to think about it, however, to put him in a particularly foul mood. This week alone he had made no less than five students cry, two of them from his own house.

It was a Monday and he was grading sixth year essays while simultaneously trying to go over his lesson plan for today's first year class. The door to the classroom opened and he looked up to give them a particularly vicious scowl. His expression changed entirely when he saw that it was Harry, wearing his school uniform and carrying an armful of books.

"You're back," Severus said, slightly stunned.

"Yeah. Rebecca said that it was about time and besides, Professor McGonagall said that if I missed much more I stood a good chance of being held back a year."

"Your mother didn't write me and tell me you'd be coming back. You think someone might have told me considering I'm your head of house," he said a bit angrily. Though he supposed Dumbledore had assumed that Lily would have told him. Then, to Harry, he said, "You're fifteen minutes early for class."

"I know," Harry said, looking slightly awkward. "I wanted to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Well, er, I just wanted to say that if you and Mum made up and things went back to normal, I would be really good." Harry looked at him furtively for a reaction. "I mean, I would follow all of your rules. Even the ones that I think are stupid. I wouldn't even argue with you."

This was all said in a rush and he hated the hopeful look the child was giving him. Severus sighed and ran a hand over his face, "Harry, it's not about that. It's not about you."

"Right," Harry said, apparently unconvinced, "I just wanted you to know that anyway."