Severus stomped through the woods after the boy. He wasn't concerned about the amount of noise he made. It would actually be preferable, he thought, if Harry knew someone was there. That way, he would scare Harry anymore than he already was. In a matter of a few yards, Severus found him. Harry was kneeling in a small clearing, his back to his professor. Harry had wrapped his arms around his middle as he quietly sobbed, and continued to lose what little food he'd managed to eat. Harry didn't seem to notice him.

Quietly, Severus knelt beside Harry and put his arm across his shoulders. Harry flinched away, and muttered something.

"Pardon?" Severus asked.

"Go away," Harry muttered a little more coherently this time. "I said I wanted to be alone." Severus nodded, and squeezed Harry's shoulder.

"It's not safe to be alone in these woods," Severus said calmly.

"I don't care," Harry sobbed. He seemed to have calmed his stomach, but he was far from better.

"You could be killed if you were alone."

"Good."

"You don't mean that."

"I do."

"Oh, come here," Severus sighed and pulled Harry close. Harry returned the embrace, and began to cry freely. They were silent for some minutes, while Severus held the boy close, almost hoping to squeeze all the hurt and pain from him.

Severus realized that if he could, he would take Harry's pain himself. When his tears didn't ease, Severus didn't know what do.

"It's alright, Harry," he said. "I'm here, and you'll never have to go back to your uncle again." But it seemed to have the opposite effect that Severus was hoping for. Harry continued to cry all the harder. His fists made bunches of Severus' clothes, like Harry was clinging on to the only thing he could reach in the hurricane he called his life so that he wouldn't be carried away. Severus sighed, resolved to try again.

"Do you really think I don't love you?" Harry's breath hitched and he nodded. "Why not?"

"You can't," Harry replied, broken. "You've hated me for so long, perhaps you can tolerate me, perhaps you can use me, you can't love me." Severus snorted quietly.

"My whole life has been a sacrifice for you," Severus said sadly. "If you can't see that, I don't know what I can do to prove it."

"You're a liar," Harry continued. "Your whole life you've spent it lying. A spy is just a professional liar."

"I can't deny that," Severus said. "But the difference between a liar and a madman is that the liar still knows the truth."

"Leave me alone," Harry sobbed anew, but he clung closer, if it were possible. Mixed signals much? Severus thought.

"Shh, everything will be alright," Severus whispered. Harry began to calm down. His breathing evened, but his grip didn't loosen.

"Is he really dead?" Harry finally asked.

"Your godfather may not know what he's talking about, most of the time, but when he says that your uncle is dead, then yes, it is true."

"I - I never wanted that."

"No one said you did. If he was willing to abuse one person, he would be willing to do it to someone else. Now he can't. You can live in the peace that it is impossible for him to ever hurt you again." Harry released Severus' robes and stood up. His expression was unreadable, even for Severus.

"Let's go destroy that horcrux," Harry said quietly.

"Despite what Black says, I'll never use you," Severus said equally quietly.

"You already have," Harry accused as he spun on his heel and stalked back to the campsite. Severus sighed and followed.

.oO-Oo.

Severus followed Harry back to the clearing, where he saw Harry guardedly watching Black. It was clear the two hadn't spoken. It was also clear that Harry was very unhappy with his godfather. Severus had to walk past Black in order to get to Harry. He walked a little closer than necessary, just close enough to mutter so that Black could hear.

"Thank you for making my job so much easier," he whispered. His voice dripped disdain. Severus didn't doubt Black's good intentions, that Black truly did want to help the boy. But good intentions paved the way to hell. He didn't need the interference. Black didn't respond, but glared at him. Severus sneered in response, and continued to his destination. Harry didn't back away, but his eyes fell.

The boy seemed to know that he had said too much, and expected consequences. Well, Severus certainly wasn't happy with the situation but he wasn't going to address anything in front of Black. Last time he tried that tactic the poor boy ran away to be away from both of them.

Severus pulled the horcrux from a pocket within his robes and dangled it in Harry's view. Harry looked at the piece of gleaming metal, and his eyes wandered questioningly to Severus' face.

"Shall we destroy it?" Severus asked. He wanted Harry to know that nothing had changed because of the boy's outburst. He wanted Harry to know that he was still the same as ever, and their mission hadn't changed.

"Yes, sir," Harry muttered, his eyes falling again. "Sorry, sir." Severus hissed at the apology.

"We'll speak of it later," he grumbled quietly. "In the meantime," he continued, more clearly, "we can destroy this." At that, Severus pulled a fang from another pocket. Laying the locket on the ground and kneeling beside it, Severus raised the fang. "Harry, your hand," Severus said. Harry extended his hand over Severus', so that the two of them, together could claim responsibility for one less of Voldemort's horcruxes. Severus brought the fang down on the locket, and it bounced off the surface. Severus dropped the fang in disbelief.

"I'm guessing that wasn't supposed to happen," Harry said.

"No," Severus said, shocked and puzzled. Quickly, Severus picked up the locket. It clearly wasn't a horcrux. Any horcrux would have bled and fought when attacked with a Basilisk fang. This was clearly just a locket. He opened it. A small paper fell out. Severus opened the paper. There was writing on it.

"'To the Dark Lord,'" Severus read aloud, "'I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more. R.A.B.'"

"R.A.B.?" Black suddenly asked. "Let me see that." Black grabbed the slip of paper from Severus' hands. Severus didn't try to stop him, so shocked was he.

"Who's R.A.B?" Harry demanded.

"Regulus, you cunning bastard," Severus said, a small smirk appearing on his face.

"He repented?" Black asked, amazed as he glanced up from the note to Severus. "My brother, Regulus Arcturus Black, tried to bring down He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? My brother, the death eater? My brother, the child who could do no wrong? My brother, the purist, the one who never broke my mother's heart?"

Severus continued to laugh at the revelation, quietly, to himself, as Black asked no one in particular these questions.

"Regulus, I never knew you had it in you," Severus said, seeming to direct his comment to the locket. "It would seem so," Severus then said, answering Black's rhetorical questions. "It would do not to judge someone too quickly based on past actions. Sometimes you find you don't even know your own family's actions, beliefs and motivations, much less those of a life long enemy." Black nodded, as Severus rose to his feet. "This, I believe, belongs to you." Severus handed the locket to Black. "Be it a memento, a reminder, that people change." Severus gave Black a pointed look, as he accepted the locket.

"So," Harry said, breaking the silence, "what just happened?"

"We don't have a horcrux," Severus said, "but I believe we have peace." Black nodded his assent.

.oO-Oo.

Harry inwardly huffed. Whatever that meant. He was frustrated and hurt right now, not a good combination. Somehow, he thought that this particular combination might be the majority of his life. Harry was upset with Sirius for having interfered. He was relieved, yet disturbed, that his uncle was dead. And Snape, he wasn't ready to think about Snape.

"Regulus likely brought the real locket back to Grimmauld Place," Snape said. "As the house is now yours, the horcrux is also yours. I trust you have enough honor to try to regain said object so your godson and I can destroy it?"

"Of course," Sirius said, sounding shocked and slightly confused. "I'm sure that little nuisance house elf will know something."

"Be kind to him, please," Harry interjected. Sirius paused, but didn't acknowledge the request.

"Harry and I have somewhere else to go, Black," Snape continued. "I believe you can get back to where you need to be without my help?" Snape's voice had lost its usual hostility, Harry noticed.

"Yes, of course," Sirius replied, clenching the locket in his fist. He disapperated with a loud snap. Snape turned to Harry. Now Harry stepped back fearfully.

"Sorry, sir, I'm sorry," Harry began mumbling quickly. Snape didn't acknowledge him except to step closer. Finally Harry's back made contact with a tree. "I'm sorry!" Harry said, much louder, as Snape was nearing. "Please don't hurt me." Harry sunk to the ground in despair, and covered his face with his hands. "Please, please, no." Snape crouched down across from Harry and reached out to the unsuspecting boy. Harry flinched as soon as Snape's hand made contact with his hair. He began to shake uncontrollably, out of fear, he knew.

"I will never hurt you," Snape said gently. "I will never use you." There was silence for a few moments. Then Severus asked, "When do you think I did?"

"That night," Harry choked out, bringing his hands away from his face. "The night Vold- I mean, the Dark Lord fell. You knew I would come, you knew I would try to save you. You couldn't know that I would beat him. But you could know that it wouldn't happen to you if I - "

"Harry, it was nothing like that!" Snape cut him off. "Did this even occur to you before your idiot godfather put that idea in your head?"

"No, sir," Harry admitted.

"Then perhaps you should just put that idea back where it came from," Snape advised. "On to our destination?"

"Yes, sir," Harry muttered and nodded. Even if Snape could assure him that he wasn't being used, once it had been suggested, Harry had a difficult time not letting a little shadow of doubt gnaw at the corner of his mind. What Snape did for him was out of obligation, so why shouldn't Snape get something out of it too? Snape held out his arm, and Harry accepted it, as they disapparated.

.oO-Oo.

Harry found himself outside a tumble down shack, if such a word was sufficiently insulting for the remnants of the building. He gave Snape a questioning look as he let go and stepped away from the man. Snape looked at him oddly. Harry would have thought it was concern if he hadn't known better.

"Why are we here?" Harry asked.

"This was the house where the Dark Lord's mother lived," Snape explained as he began to approach the house. "His father, Tom Riddle Sr., lived up there, in that house," he continued, pointing up a hill to a mansion silhouetted in the distance.

"Oh," Harry said.

"I thought, perhaps, we could find something here," Snape continued as he pushed the loose, creaky door open. Harry nodded, but Snape didn't turn around to see. He followed his professor into the dark, dank building. Snape drew his wand at lit a lumos charm, filling the room with light. Harry looked around at the disarray and mess surrounding him. "The Gaunts were the only living descendants of Slytherin," Snape continued. "It's only natural, with the pride they had in this fact, that they may have had something of Slytherin's. The Dark Lord would have greatly desired to make that object into one of his horcruxes."

"I see," Harry said. "So we're guessing."

"Basically," Snape relied, as he began to search the house. Harry let him do what he would, but didn't help. He didn't want to interfere with anything the man had planned, if the man had anything planned.

"Ha, I found it!" Snape suddenly exclaimed. He showed his findings to Harry. In Snape's palm was a black ring. It seemed to hum with an unpleasant energy.

"That's a horcrux?" Harry asked.

"I'm certain of it," Snape replied. "That and more. We can destroy it now." Once again, Snape pulled out his Basilisk fang, and they repeated the same ceremony. Harry placed his hand on top of Snape's and together they brought the fang down on the ring. A wail filled the room, and Harry covered his ears as he grimaced. Snape didn't react, and Harry wondered if he couldn't hear it.

"The sound of victory," Snape intoned once the wail had died. "With one horcrux destroyed, we're that much closer to safety." A smile of relief crossed Snape's features. "It's time to return to Hogwarts," he continued. "I thank you for accompanying me." Harry's throat felt too tight to speak, so he simply nodded, and accepted the arm offered to him, as they disapparated with a loud crack.