Snape frowned as he sat at his desk in the Potions classroom, staring at the velvet box in front of him. He had finished his analysis of the necklace earlier and found no traces of any dark magic at work. He glanced up towards the clock. It'd soon be time for his second-years to filter into his class. He'd return it to Granger then. Preferably before class started if the witch followed her routine like usual.

At the sound of the door creaking open, his dark eyes darted to it. He watched the Gryffindor witch walk in hesitantly. Her companions weren't with her, but his son and his idiot friend Weasley rarely were first to Potions. He'd have a good five minutes alone with her.

"Miss Granger," he spoke softly, addressing the young girl. He caught her look of panic instantly and suppressed the urge to groan. Honestly, he wasn't that damn scary. "You may have your necklace back. There are no dark spells on it. Nor poisons. Nor anything sinister whatsoever. It's merely an expensive necklace." He held it out, waiting for her to collect it.

"Thank you, sir."

"Don't thank me. Thank Mr. Malfoy," he replied quietly as she grabbed the black velvet box. "He's the one who gave it to you."

"Draco?" she repeated bewildered. "But why would he get me anything?"

"I'd suggest you ask him that, Miss Granger."

"Yes, sir." She nodded slowly before she drew in a slow breath, her mind clearly working through a fury of questions. "You casted a charm on the necklace to reveal the person's identity, didn't you, sir? In an attempt to figure out the person's true intentions, I mean?" She swallowed when Snape merely stared at her for a few moments.

"No."

"I don't understand then. How did you know it was Draco?"

"An older student recognized it and wanted to know why I had Mr. Malfoy's box." He watched her chew on that answer for a few moments. No doubt, she had more questions. "I suggest, Miss Granger, that instead of annoying me to death with your questions, you merely ask Mr. Malfoy and cease in bothering me with answers that I do not have. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." She turned around then and walked to her seat quietly, the necklace quickly being tucked away into her bag. Silence settled around them for awhile. It was going to be a long five minutes.

"Miss Granger?" He watched her head snap up. "How has my son been?" He hadn't seen him since Saturday when he lost his temper. He hadn't been able to work up the courage to apologize quite yet. Instead, he sat in his rooms, drowning his sorrows in Firewhiskey like the wretched man he was.

"Confused and worried, sir," she answered respectfully. "But Professor Sinistra has been talking with him regularly since Saturday night."

"Aurora's been talking with him?" He frowned. The witch had conveniently left that out earlier.

"Yes, sir. It seems to be helping him."

"Does he state what they're talking about?"

"No, sir." She shook her head. "Any conversations with Professor Sinistra are usually private."

"You've spoken with her before then, Miss Granger?"

He was well aware that Aurora took certain first-years under her wing if she thought they were having difficulty adjusting to Hogwarts. It had helped him greatly over the years and allowed him to focus on other things rather than the incessant whining of brats. It was one of the many things he appreciated about her. Her kindness and loyalty were the other things.

"Yes, sir. Last year. Before the incident with the troll in the lavatory," she admitted quietly.

He recalled that particular incident with a sour look. He had thought for certain he was destined to die of a heart attack because of the boy's idiotic attempts of bravery. Then again, at the time, he didn't really know his son. At least not like how he knew his son now.

"Did she help you, Miss Granger?"

"It was more about knowing that she was there, sir. That she cared and that I wasn't alone."

He nodded. A series of memories flashed in his mind, causing him to draw in a slow breath. It was the same for him if he was honest with himself. Just her being there was enough to heal wounds.

At the sound of the door opening, Snape let his thoughts slip away again. He glanced towards the students walking in, his face perfectly neutral. He watched all of them filter in, nervously taking their seats. His eyes remained on his son a bit longer than the others, taking note of the boy's downcast eyes. He needed to talk to Harry to explain. He decided he'd wait until after class to speak with him. He couldn't delay it any longer, judging by his son's look.

"Settle," Snape announced softly as he slowly took his place at the top of the classroom. "The instructions for today's lesson are on the board. I would advise all of you that I expect you to use your heads while brewing this potion, but clearly for some of you that would be expecting a lot. You have exactly an hour. Do try not to kill your classmates."

Snape then whirled around and headed to his desk, allowing his students to move about the classroom to gather their materials. It had always been better for his mental health if he remained far away from his students during this time. The idiocy a few demonstrated on a daily basis frankly drove him up the wall. Not to mention the frequent "Ew. I have to touch this?" whines that came from several of them after they retrieved their ingredients.

As soon as the last student had returned to his table, Snape pushed himself up. He had given them more than enough time to settle into brewing now. He slowly walked down the aisle, glancing at their work as he moved past just to double check their work. For all his harshness, he truly didn't want any of his students to die by accidental potions explosions. For the most part, the students were focused on their task. All except one young boy—his son.

Snape frowned inwardly when he caught his son's meager chopping of his rat tail. The boy clearly didn't seem to be enjoying Potions in the slightest today. He sighed silently, glancing about the room to do a quick check before he stopped beside his son's cauldron. He flicked his hidden wand, casting Muffliato around them.

"I apologize for my behavior on Saturday. I should not have lost control like that."

"It's fine." Harry shrugged, his eyes downcast. "M—Professor Sinistra explained. I understand."

Snape opened his mouth to speak, but Longbottom gained his attention as the Gryffindor foolishly went to throw an ingredient into his cauldron. The conversation was effectively dropped then.

~FKTF~

Later that night, Harry tossed and turned in his bed. He knew his father had attempted all afternoon to try to speak with him. Harry, however, did his best to brush the man off, though. It wasn't that he didn't love his father. He did. It was why it hurt so much. To see his father lose his temper with him and scare him to death like that. His dad's temper was so eerily similar to Vernon's that for a moment there that Saturday he thought for a split second his father was about to hit him.

The young boy bit his lip and swiped at the traitorous tears a moment later. Harry just wasn't ready to talk to his father yet. He needed time. It was the first time he had truly felt like he wasn't safe with his dad, and he hated it.

It was stupid. Of course he was safe with his dad. His dad loved him, whereas Uncle Vernon wouldn't have given a flying leap if Harry had died. So, then really why couldn't he get past this stupid fear? Why couldn't he just put on his brave face and talk to his father? Why did he instead avoid the man like the plague and hide out here in the tower?

He sniffled, wiping his nose onto his pajama sleeve. His mind returned to what his mum had said earlier during their talk. His mind was just trying to make sense of everything again. The whole thing with his dad had brought back painful memories, and his mind was working through that pain. It would take time she had said. He believed her. His mum hadn't failed him yet.

Harry rolled over, pulling his covers up around him more. Would his mother have said the same thing if she were alive? He didn't know. His dad made his mother sound like she was an amazing, kind woman. But in Harry's mind, he thought that about his mum, not his birth mother. He had tried to bring his birth mother up with his mum in order to learn a bit more about her, get another perspective so to speak. His mum had only told him, however, that his dad would be better to answer that. Harry knew his dad's answer about his birth mother, though. Lily was perfect in every way imaginable. She made no mistakes. She was beautiful, kind, and loving, truly the perfect woman. The end.

The twelve-year-old scoffed, punching his pillow to fluff it up again. His dad needed to open his eyes and see his mum instead of only his birth mother. That was his opinion.

~FKTF~

Heading to his dungeons, Snape frowned as he hurried down the staircase outside of the Headmaster's office. While a part of him was glad that Dumbledore thought to inform him of Flint and Montague's punishment, another part of him wasn't. The punishment was too lenient in his opinion. Then again, he did have a bit of a bias concerning their crime.

Snape turned the corner to walk out of the alcove and promptly slammed into someone. He growled instantly, having been in a bad mood to begin with. He caught his colleague's slightly raised eyebrow in response to his growl and clenched his jaw.

"Professor Rayne," he merely acknowledged with a hint of a hiss. He then tried to sidestep her to leave, only to have her hand rest against his forearm for a moment.

"Professor Snape," said the witch quietly. "Perhaps you'll have a better day tomorrow, hmm?"

He growled before he yanked his arm back, easily brushing past her this time. He hated his colleagues. Truly hated each and every one of them. He stalked down to his dungeons then, wishing he'd come across an insolent brat that he could reduce to tears. His wish was not fulfilled, however.

As soon as the portrait shut behind him, Snape ripped his billowing robes off. Why had his son ignored him all damn day? He had apologized. Didn't the boy understand how sorry he was for losing his temper like that? No. Of course not. It was much easier to think he was a git.

Snape quickly proceeded to get ready for bed, hardly noticing the temper tantrum he was clearly throwing as he did. What the hell had his son meant that Aurora had explained? Explained what? He knew she'd not tell Harry about that day by the lake. Aurora wouldn't hurt him like that. She was much too kind but most especially too smart for that.

Now wearing only a pair of black sweatpants that were low on his waist, Snape rolled onto his side, slamming his wand down onto his nightstand. The torches around his bedroom extinguished at once. He growled once more, clenching his jaw. Damn it all to hell.

Closing his eyes tightly, he focused on his breathing as he followed his ritual of clearing his mind. He soon fell into a restless slumber.

"Sev," a familiar voice spoke, surrounding him as he found himself entering his dream.

Snape watched his Lily come into view and sighed, the anger evaporating. He then caught another movement to his left and watched Aurora walk towards them slowly. The usual annoyance that he had felt for months was long gone now. It was calming to see both of them. He wondered idly what he would dream this time. His dreams lately had taken a bit of a nice turn for the better thankfully.

"Look for yourself. Look in her mind, Sev."

His eyes narrowed in confusion. Just what did Lily want him to see in Aurora's mind?

"See for yourself how she fancies herself being the Mrs. Gilderoy Lockhart."

"Aurora doesn't like that idiot," Snape argued, frowning. He then tried to push the dream aside in favor of having a better one than this dream, finding that it remained. What the hell was this dream?

"Oh, really? Is that what she told you, Sev?" Lily scoffed. "They're all lies."

"No, Lily. It's not. Aurora doesn't care for him. I know it." He then tensed as a series of flashes of Aurora and Lockhart passed by on the black mist that surrounded them.

"She'd never be true to you, Sev. It's not in her."

Snape shook his head, though. It wasn't true. Everything about Aurora showed him that she would be faithful to him. That was if he just admitted his feelings to her.

"She told him. Think about it, Sev. How else would Harry understand your pain? Your anger?"

"No. She wouldn't."

"Oh, really?" Lily laughed shortly. Another series of images flashed quickly. "Want to bet?"

"She wouldn't tell him, Lily. She knows what it means. She wouldn't do that."

"You mean like how she wouldn't tell Madam Pomfrey about your drinking, hmm?"

Snape flinched instinctively. Aurora had told Pomfrey about that unfortunately. He shook his head, though. That was different. She had done so to help him.

"Just like this time, Sev. Saint Sinistra thought she was helping you by telling him about how you called me a Mudblood." She smiled, laughing when he tensed visibly. "Go on, Sev. Look for yourself. See the lies she's told you. I'm just trying to keep you from getting hurt. Do it, Sev. See for yourself her lies. She's a Slytherin after all. She'd use any means to get you and then toss you aside when she was done with you. Do it. Look for yourself. Prove me wrong, Sev."

Snape clenched his jaw tighter. Lily was wrong. Aurora wouldn't hurt him like that. He reached forward, his hand clasping onto Aurora's wrist before he pulled her closer. As Lily continued her chant, he saw the panic in Aurora's eyes as she desperately tried to avoid his eyes. She wouldn't—the WITCH!

"Legilimens," he growled, tearing into Aurora's mind with pure fury. Faintly, he heard her pain filled screams, but he ignored them. He would not be made the fool. Not by her!

His mind rifled through hers destructively before he came back to himself after viewing the last memory of Aurora's. She hadn't . . . He quickly pulled himself out of her mind, inhaling sharply when he caught the blood streaming from Aurora's nose as she stared at him blankly. No. When her body pitched forward suddenly, he leapt ahead and caught the unconscious witch, trembling as he did.

Snape's eyes quickly darted to Lily. At the sight of the gleeful smile on Lily's face, he felt his heart stop. What had he done?

"I'm the only woman you'll ever love, remember, Sev?" Lily stated coldly.

"You bitch," he snarled. The pure vitriol and hatred in his words startled him awake almost instantly, the words loudly reverberating around his bedroom. He clenched his jaw tightly, fisting the sheets beneath his hands. His breathing came in pants as anger flooded every part of him.

Snape sat up in bed for several minutes, growling lowly as he slowly calmed down. It was ridiculous. Positively ridiculous. And yet that stupid dream gave him the push—well, rather shove he needed. He couldn't just sit back anymore and try to convince himself that finally moving on was the right thing to do. Hell, his sitting back and waiting for Lily to make the first move had been one of the many reasons he lost Lily. He had never made his move. Well, that was going to change now. He would not lose Aurora. Not this time. He snatched his wand from beside him and threw his legs over the side of the bed before he stood up. For once in his life, he would get the girl.

"Baron!" Snape shouted. He watched the Slytherin ghost float into the room a moment later, his silver bloodstains glistening in the low light. "Where is Aurora?"

"In her rooms, Severus." The Baron's voice was low, full of remorse and sadness, as it always was. His chains rattled and clanged as he floated in the middle of the room.

Snape nodded slowly. "Thank you, Baron. That will be all."

"I wish you better fortune than I, Severus." The Baron then slowly turned and floated away.

Snape frowned but brushed off his thoughts. He couldn't delay any longer. With his wand in hand, he whirled around and stalked to his sitting room. He didn't care if he did look like hell frozen over; he needed to tell her that he cared for her. Now. Before he stupidly talked himself out of it again.

He grabbed a pinch of Floo powder and cast a quick Freezing charm on the flames in the fireplace. He stepped in a moment later and called out his destination as he tossed down the powder. He arrived to her dark sitting room not long after.

"Sinistra!" he called out. He glanced about the room, searching for any movement. On the staircase that led to her bedroom he assumed, he caught a shadow move from inside the room and shook his head slowly. She must have been getting ready for bed herself. "Aurora, I need to talk to you." The sound of glass shattering upstairs a second later sent him sprinting up the spiral staircase.

When he reached the final step, Snape saw a black robed figure choking Aurora while pinning her to her vanity table. Without a second of delay, Snape threw a Cutting curse at the person. He noted with hidden glee that he had hit her attacker in the arm, causing the figure to release her instantly. Snape then dodged as a volley of hexes was thrown towards him, sending back his own batch of nasty curses. With his teeth bared, Snape yelled when the figure suddenly drew a knife.

"Coward," he growled.

"You don't got a clue who you're messing with, old man," the figure snarled back.

Snape truthfully didn't give a rat's arse. All he wanted right then was to kill the person who had attacked Aurora. He stalked towards the person, dodging the slashes and thrusts of the knife before he expertly disarmed the figure—the knife clattering to the stone floor after a loud snap of a bone breaking. Snape's fist then connected with the figure's face. He dodged when the person retaliated with a swing towards him a moment later. Without a thought given, Snape punched the person hard in the jaw before he slammed his boot against the person's chest. He watched neutrally as the figure crashed through the glass window, falling through it.

With the threat eliminated, Snape turned around and quickly headed back to Aurora who lay motionless on the floor. He easily picked her up and carried her downstairs. He ignored the pounding of his own heart as the dark voices whispered their sinister thoughts in his mind. He'd get her to Pomfrey, and she'd be fine then.

Tossing down the Floo powder a moment later, they swiftly arrived in the Hospital Wing.

"Pomfrey!" he shouted, setting Aurora down atop of the nearest cot. He heard hurried footfalls come from the direction of the matron's office a second later.

"Oh dear Merlin—What on Earth—Severus, how?"

"Later," he snapped with his teeth clenched tightly together. He silently watched Pomfrey quickly wave her wand over Aurora to examine her before the matron headed off to work on healing her. He remained by Aurora's side as the unconscious witch had done so many times for him. When Pomfrey glanced at him—likely to inform him that he had to leave—he shot his fiercest glare at her. He was thankful that the matron had the foresight to keep her mouth shut then. Under no circumstances was he going to leave Aurora now.

At the sound of more footfalls, he clenched his fist, noting a slight ache in it but ignoring the pain for the most part. Snape's frown deepened when he caught who had arrived. Wonderful.

"You'll find the bastard at the base of the Astronomy Tower, Headmaster," Snape stated coldly.

"I see." There was a long pause. "Kingsley, go. Calisto, fetch Harry for me please."

Snape clenched his teeth even more somehow at Dumbledore's mentioning of his son. However, he remained silent, watching Pomfrey work on Aurora. At the sound of the doors opening later, he felt his son approaching them slowly. He could feel his son's worry and fear but the young boy was trying like mad to keep both emotions at bay.

"Dad?" Harry said softly. He swallowed when their eyes met. "Just what is going on with you and Mum exactly?"