Harry felt like he could run forever and that's what he wanted to do. He wanted to run as far away from the school as possible and never come back. He was running down the main staircase, taking the stairs two at a time. There was no one there to stop him, so he was at the great hall quickly. He didn't realize what happened when he was thrown to the ground. Had Snape come back to fight Harry again?

"What do you want!" Harry shouted, his voice echoing back to him in the empty hall.

"What'd I do, Harry?" Hagrid questioned.

"Oh, I'm sorry Hagrid. I wasn't yelling at you." Harry stood up wiping tears from his eyes.

"Yer alright, Harry?" He questioned. "Yer really shouldn' be out after dark, ya know."

"I'm fine Hagrid. I was just at the headmaster's office."

"Why yer runnin' then? Yer seem righ' bit angry. Is there something wrong?"

"NO….I…um…" Harry stammered, looking for a good explanation.

"Harry." A voice called from behind him.

The boy whirled around and the look on his face was filled with poison. Dumbledore was standing just beyond the entrance of the great hall.

"Harry, can you please follow me?" Dumbledore questioned, and without waiting for an answer, he walked away.

Harry felt like he should still run, but something told him to follow Dumbledore. He said goodbye to Hagrid and followed the headmaster into an empty classroom. When both men were in the room, Dumbledore tapped the doorknob with his wand then pointed it at the door.

"We can speak freely now. Harry, I would like you to explain what happened in my office just now."

"You know exactly what happened." Harry shouted. "Snape almost punched me, which is something he's wanted to do since I got here. He's been out to get me from day one."

"Harry, Professor Snape is a teacher at this school. His number one priority is the safety of the students. That is beside the point, however. Why do you think he tried to hit you?"

"He was angry at me." Harry stated rather harshly. He was seething in anger.

"Did you force him to be angry at you?"

"He's always angry at me."

"Harry." Dumbledore warned.

"But he is." Harry informed the headmaster.

"Does he have a right to be angry at you after the names that you called him?" Dumbledore raised his voice a little at the end.

"Yes, but he doesn't have a right to hit me."

"True." Dumbledore confessed. "Why do you think he would not allow you to fight alongside him?"

"He's a death eater and he didn't want to be seen with me."

"Harry, you have a right to think these things, but you DO NOT have the right to say them to his face!" Dumbledore raised his voice even more, causing Harry to become intimidated. "Do you think that you were being disrespectful?"

"Yes, but he's disrespectful to me as well. He called me an arrogant bastard."

"Professor Snape has issues letting go of old rivalries." Dumbledore stated. "How do you that your mother did not love Professor Snape?"

"I don't but…" Harry began to argue, but Dumbledore cut him off.

"Do you think that Professor Snape is sorry about the way that he acted?"

Harry did not answer, thinking to himself that Snape was incapable of feeling sorry about anything.

"I do not wish for you and Professor Snape to be rivals. You never know when you might need his help. I want you to go down to the dungeons and apologize to him."

Harry almost groaned at the idea of apologizing to the overgrown bat. "I know that you feel that you were not at fault, but two wrongs will only lead to a fight. So go now." Dumbledore ordered, pointing at the door.

Harry walked out of the room unhappy. He didn't want to see Snape today, tomorrow, or for the rest of his life.

Snape couldn't figure it out, no matter how long he thought about it. Harry Potter is a disrespectful brat, but why was the potions master so hurt by the look in the boy's eyes? Snape had been so angry with himself for letting his temper get the better of him. He had cursed multiple times in his quarters that night. He damned his father for being a alcoholic with a temper, one which had been passed on to his son. When Snape was young, he told himself he would never become his father. Now that he had acted out like his father would have in one of his drunken fits, Snape was terrified. Dumbledore had assured him that he was not like his father, but there was always the doubt in his mind that could not be put out.

"Professor." He heard someone call as the door to his classroom opened.

What does Potter want now?

"He probably wants to rub it in some more, the ungrateful bastard." Snape thought.

Snape had lost some blood in the battle earlier and even though he would like to keep his private quarters just that, he had no energy to get out to his classroom. He knew that he would have to talk to the brat eventually. It must be sooner than later. Snape pointed his wand at the door which led to the classroom.

"Get in quickly, Potter." Snape snarled.
Footsteps clicked on the floor and when they had become muffled, Snape spelled the door shut.

"What do you want, Potter?" Snape growled as Harry came to the front of the couch that Snape had occupied.

"I wanted….Are you okay, Professor?" Harry questioned back.

Snape was really pale.

"I thought you wanted me dead twenty minutes ago."

"It's just…..you look very pale."

` "Thanks to my attempts of rescuing your ungrateful arse, I managed to lose a large amount of my blood. That does not answer my question. What do you want?"

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I had no right to say any of those things because it was rude and unfair. I know nothing of your personal relationships and I was being a disrespectful arse.

Snape stared at the boy, puzzled by the turn of events.

"Did the headmaster put you up to this?"

"No. I just thought that you would make a better ally than enemy."

"You're right, Potter. Thank god your have a fraction of your mother's smarts."

An awful silence fell between the two men.

"Are you just going to stand there, or is there something else, Potter?" Snape broke the silence after a few seconds.

"Well….it's….I."

"Spit it out now, Potter!"

"Did you really know my mother?"

Harry was obviously nervous about asking the question.

"I thought you knew this answer?" Snape mocked.

"I said I'm sorry for what I said. I want to hear you tell me. Did you really know my mother?"
Snape looked at the boy. His memories of Lily were sacred, much like the Parthenon was to the Greeks. Snape definitely didn't want to tell the boy.

"I know that you may not want to tell me, Professor. I only ask because I don't know anything about my parents. No one tells me anything and if they do, they lie to me. I just want to know who my parents were."

Why does the boy have to play that card?

"Your mother….she was my best friend. Your father….was my worst enemy. That is really all you need to know. They were good people and fought for a good cause. Your mother sacrificed herself and she knew that others had sacrificed a lot. I was one of those that your mother knew about."

"What do you mean?"

"I have made some choices…..which changed a lot of people's lives. For better and for worse. I am still making those choices and hopefully they will continue to make the world better."

"Professor, I am sorry for what I said. I am very thankful for you doing what you did today. I think I understand what you do for Dumbledore. I hope that I can trust you if You Know Who comes back. I really feel that I will need your help in the future."

Snape sat there in silence thinking about what the boy had said.

"You can trust me and I will always be there to help you. Now go back to your common room. It's late."

"Thank you professor."

Harry left the room and Snape sat on the couch for a little while longer. The conversation that just transpired could only mean one thing. Harry and Snape would now be comrades in the battle against the dark forces of the wizarding world.