"What is the meaning of this?" Minerva asked, calmly, though her breathing was slightly faster than normal, as the held up a rolled paper.

"That," Severus replied, as he finished pouring her tea in his chambers, "is none of my concern." He took a small sip from his own cup as he settled into a chair. Minerva gasped and for a moment was silent. She had come to see him immediately after classes, and while he did not look forward to the inevitable conversation, he was not going to be a bad host and not offer her tea.

"What do you mean, none of your concern? This is Harry we're talking about."

"Don't mention him to me," Severus ordered suddenly.

"Severus!" Minerva barked. "What's gotten into you?"

"The boy doesn't want my help, and I can't blame him," Severus growled back, standing up and leaning his fist against the wall, his forehead on his fist.

"What happened?" Minerva asked quietly, stepping close to Severus, closer than he would have liked.

"I've hurt him, Minerva," Severus murmured, not moving.

"How?" she asked.

"I won't talk about it!" Severus whirled on her. "It's too humiliating," he continued, his voice growing quieter. "Too horrible. Too terrible."

"How can you stand back and let Harry go through this by himself?"

"You're his Head of House!" Severus threw back at her. "Why didn't you see the signs? Why don't you go deal with him?"

"You adopted him!" Minerva shouted back.

"Biggest mistake of my life!" he shot back.

"Bigger than this?" she replied grabbing his left arm and revealing the Dark Mark. For a moment, Severus looked horrified. Then he jerked his arm away from her and smoothed his sleeve over the offending tattoo.

"Not bigger than that," he murmured sorrowfully.

"When you and Harry left this past weekend," Minerva began, "and Draco Malfoy began the rumors, we dismissed them as non-sense. All the teachers did. The students were more than eager to bolster the gossip, and the stories got wilder and wilder. Then a few of the more thoughtful students began to discuss the possibility that Mr. Malfoy's story could be true and the evidence for and against it. The wild stories died, and the more rational voices took over. Still we refused to believe it. Finally, we couldn't deny it any longer. The story made sense. And the way you two left after that only confirmed it. As has been pointed out before, if it weren't true, you or Harry would have denied it. Your silence was your confirmation. Why won't you help him now?"

"Minerva, I can't help him," Severus sighed. "His problems are beyond what I can fix. Perhaps you, or someone else - "

"No, Severus, it has to be you," Minerva pressed.

"Why? Why do I have to do everything for him? How much of myself do I have to give?"

"You could have started by not hating him," Minerva pointed out.

"I never hated him," Severus muttered.

"You acted like it," she observed.

"I was having a really bad day, okay?" he shot back.

"You remember why you were so cruel to him?" Minerva asked, a little surprised.

"I remember almost everything," Severus said through clenched teeth, turning away again. "If only I could forget. If I could forget."

"Forget what?" Minerva whispered. "I've never seen you like this, Severus. Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright!" Severus shouted at her, and it almost seemed like they had returned several years, to when he was no more than a child himself, and he was arguing with his teacher. "What about this situation makes you think it might be alright?"

"Severus," Minerva tried again, this time laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't touch me, woman!" Severus yelled as he flinched away.

"Alright, I'm sorry," Minerva said, her voice almost like that of someone trying to coax a dangerous or wounded animal out of hiding. "Why were you having a bad day that first class with Harry?"

"The meetings," he whispered, almost calmed by her tone. "You don't understand what I had to do at the meetings."

"You would have to torture people? Kill people?" Minerva guessed.

"No," Severus said. "If only it had been that simple."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, worry creeping into her voice.

"Don't make me talk about it," Severus pleaded as he leaned back against the wall. He ran his hands through his hair and gripped it, not unlike a certain Gryffindor had done earlier that day, and sank to the ground.

"Severus, you're scaring me!" Minerva exclaimed.

"Oh, God, no," Severus murmured, not looking at her, hands still in his hair, resting his forehead on his knees.

"Severus Snape, what's going on?" Minerva screamed at him, kneeling in front of him and grabbing him by his shoulders. He gasped and looked up at her.

"Well that hasn't happened in awhile," he snorted. He tried to stand up, but Minerva's hand on his knee stopped him momentarily. He froze and looked at her uncertainly.

"Contrary to what you seem to believe," she began, "I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were," Severus replied calmly.

"You've implied it," Minerva argued. "But I'm left to only guess what must have been happening, if you weren't torturing or killing people at those meetings and you and Harry had formed such a strong bond so quickly. Why didn't you tell Albus?"

"He knows," Severus muttered, turning his face away, shame overtaking him. Minerva just looked at him. "It had to be that way," Severus continued. "I condemned myself to it." Minerva stood up.

"I don't know whether you're the bravest or the stupidest man I've ever met," she said.

"Don't you dare imply I'm a Gryffindor on either count," Severus drawled, though his tone was weak.

"How could Albus make you continue to spy for him?"

"He didn't," Severus replied, standing up, as he paced the room a bit. "I said I condemned myself."

"I don't understand."

"You're not stupid, but there's a lot you don't understand," Severus sighed. "You don't know how much control he had over us." He braced his hands on his desk as he leaned over it. They were both silent for a moment.

"What happened between you and Harry?" she asked finally.

"I can't," he murmured.

"You wouldn't let Harry get away with an answer like that."

"In Malfoy's dungeon," he began, his voice thick and he felt like he was going to choke. He paused, trying to think of how to continue. Minerva didn't push him. "There was a ritual. An ancient ritual. To bring him back. They needed a vessel. Who better than the traitor? He possessed me. And he knew Harry's - past - from breaking my mind."

"You mean you - "

"Stop," he begged. "Don't say it. Not all the way, but far enough. I offered to leave him alone after that. He forgave me. He forgave me. And he brought it up today and then I sent him away. I'm so sorry."

"You need to talk to him," Minerva said.

"No," Severus replied.

"Whatever you do," Minerva said, perhaps a bit more coldly than she had intended, "don't condemn Harry to be the bitter and angry man you've become."

Hagrid was a truly gentle giant, if there ever was one. He cared for all the animals and every form of life that ever needed his help. To think that Hagrid could ever have been cruel to anyone or anything - even 50 years ago - was unthinkable madness.

Sirius Black had never been close to the grounds keeper in his school days, nor in his adult life either. But that last encounter with the Death Eaters at Malfoy Mansion had not left him uninjured. No one was supposed to know he was at Hogwarts. The only one who did was Minerva. Sirius didn't want to see Madame Pomfrey. While he and Minerva were sure that she possessed the highest discretion, it would still be better to keep the people who knew of Sirius' whereabouts to a bare minimum - only her. So she had suggested that he simply maintain his animagus form, and let Hagrid treat him that way.

While Sirius had had some qualms about this initially, Minerva assured him that as far as treating animals went, Hagrid was the best of the best. Hagrid never questioned that a hurt, stray dog simply showed up at his door and stayed, never questioned that whenever Harry Potter's name was mentioned, the dog picked up his ears, seeming to listen intently.

Now that a little better than a week had passed, Sirius was doing much better. Hagrid let the dog outside his hut now, and Sirius was content to remain in his dog form, if only that it allowed him to be nearer to his godson.

Sirius had had plenty of time to reflect over the mess of the last few months, and how his actions had affected what was happening. He didn't like Snape. He never did, and he never would. But even Sirius had to admit that Snape had done right by Harry. Somehow, Snape had come to look out for Harry's best interests as well. Neither Sirius nor Minerva knew exactly what had happened to Snape and Harry that day, and both had agreed that they wouldn't ask. If either of them wished to tell, then they would. It was still obvious that whatever had happened, Snape had almost died, and Harry was distraught.

Sirius realized just how disappointed he had been to see Harry's reaction to the thought that Snape had died. He wanted to hold that position in Harry's heart. He wanted to look after his godson, and if the situation had been different, he would have been the one to adopt Harry.

But Harry had made his choice, and his choice was Snape, Sirius also realized. And if that was what Harry wanted, Sirius was not going to stand in the boy's way, not now.

Padfoot was wondering the grounds of Hogwarts that Wednesday morning. It was a pleasant sunny day and the black dog was enjoying the warm light on his dark coat. Padfoot had excellent hearing, and caught the low conversation of two girls nearby. Ordinarily, Padfoot wouldn't have cared what two students were discussing, but he'd heard the key phrase, "Harry Potter." So he crept close under a bush to listen to their conversation.

"You know, Draco Malfoy is being perfectly horrid to Potter," the Ravenclaw girl said.

"I know," the Slytherin girl sighed in return.

"Is there anything you can do to stop it?"

"Me? Stop Malfoy? You must be crazy. Malfoy won't stop for anyone. It's the right of a Malfoy, I suppose, to do whatever it is he wants, even if it's to totally destroy someone's life." The sarcasm in her voice was thick. The Ravenclaw snorted, the sarcasm not lost on her.

"Well you're in his house," the Ravenclaw pointed out.

"Which means he won't give me a hard time," the Slytherin replied. "It doesn't mean he'll listen to me. Do you always listen to your housemates?"

"No," the Ravenclaw agreed. "Still, it's terrible what Malfoy did."

"Do you believe Malfoy's story?" the Slytherin asked.

"You mean that Potter was raped by his uncle?" the Ravenclaw asked. "Yeah. It explains a lot. It's possible that Potter did attack him in the bathroom too. But none of that justifies Malfoy's noising it around the school, and then to the Daily Prophet besides."

"You're right, it doesn't," the Slytherin agreed. "I can't see Malfoy's other claims in the paper being true at all."

"What do you mean?" the Ravenclaw asked.

"That the accusation of rape was just a cover up," the Slytherin clarified. The dog in the bushes tried to restrain a low growl. "If the experience was traumatic enough to cause him to have a breakdown in the bathroom, then it could hardly have been something that he was okay with."

"That's what I was thinking," the Ravenclaw replied. "It's either one or the other. And judging by the fact that Potter has been acting strangely all year, I would be inclined to say that Malfoy is the one making stuff up."

"Seems so," the Slytherin said.

"Have you seen Potter since the article?" the Ravenclaw asked.

"No," the Slytherin replied.

"Do you think he's with Snape?"

"Not really. You saw how Snape was today. He was cruel to the Slytherins today too, if you didn't notice. He wouldn't even look at Malfoy, and he took points from everyone, even me."

"That's too bad," the Ravenclaw said. "Potter should have someone."

"Yeah," the Slytherin agreed quietly. The two girls seemed to take that as the end of that topic and moved on to other things which Padfoot wasn't interested in.

Padfoot bolted back to Hagrid's hut and begged to be allowed in the house. Of course Hagrid was more than agreeable to such a plan and allowed the black dog to rush in the house and lie down on the pile of old rags which was his bed. Padfoot looked up at Hagrid with mournful eyes and whined at him.

"What's wrong?" Hagrid asked. Padfoot just whined again. Hagrid got some meat and water and laid it out for Padfoot. Then Hagrid looked the dog over to make sure he wasn't wounded. When he found nothing physically wrong with the animal, Hagrid simply left Padfoot alone to recover from whatever was wrong. Padfoot just lay there for the rest of the school day, looking perfectly pitiful. In the back of head, Sirius knew he would have to talk to Snape before the day was over.

The next day, Wednesday, after his classes were finished, Severus collapsed next to his bed. He'd only left his chambers to teach his classes, and even that, he had not wanted to do. He was still exhausted from the confrontation with Minerva the previous day.

"I can't do this. I can't do this," he murmured to himself, as he sank to the floor next to his bed, leaning against it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial of potion and turned it over in his hand, feeling the pleasant coolness of the glass. It was a potion he'd brewed years ago, and carried with him wherever he went. It was impossible to foretell what he would need at a moment's notice as a spy and this was a potion that would kill him in five minutes or less. It was necessary as a spy to have some means of escape before he broke under torture.

It seemed a beautiful shade of yellow, he thought absently. He continued to turn the vial in his hand, fascinated by how the light glinted through it. He knew he wouldn't actually swallow the potion. He was just as scared of death as he was of life.

Was this how Harry felt right now?

There was a soft scratching at Severus' door.

"Leave me alone!" he almost wailed. The scratching continued. In his emotional delirium, Severus didn't even think to question why it was a scratching and not a knock. He stood, breathed deeply for a moment, and then when he thought he was composed enough, he answered the door.

A black streak darted past him, and Severus closed the door, momentarily distracted from his own problems. The black dog quickly transformed into Sirius Black.

"Severus, we need to talk," Sirius began.

"Then talk and get it over with," Severus snapped back at him.

"It's about Harry."

"What about him?"

"Have you seen him lately? He's not been on the grounds, and I've heard rumors."

"Rumors fly aplenty in the student body," Severus drawled. "You should know. You started enough of them."

"No, I mean there's rumors that Harry's not been with you either," Sirius tried to clarify, not rising to the bait Severus left for him.

"He has not," Severus replied, his tone as cold as ice.

"Why not?"

"That's none of your business."

"Harry loves you!" Sirius suddenly shouted.

"No, he doesn't," Severus said softly, turning away from Sirius, acting like the conversation was done. Sirius grabbed Severus by the front of his robes and slammed him into the wall. Sirius needed the other man's full and undivided attention. Severus almost looked scared. It reminded him too closely of the many times he'd been slammed into the wall, both by the very same person who stood in front of him, in school, many years ago, and worse, at Tom Riddle's hands.

"Don't you know how long he cried over your body in Malfoy's dungeon?"

"It doesn't matter," Severus replied. "He told me to leave him alone."

"To protect you, you idiot," Sirius replied.

"What do you mean?" Severus asked, confused.

"Isn't it obvious? The last two paragraphs in the Prophet. Skeeter is starting to drag you into this. Harry obvious doesn't want that. The more attention you get in the paper, the more you'll be a target for your associates, won't you?" Severus paled dramatically, beginning to make the connections that Sirius couldn't.

"I mean that the article only had my secrets in it."

"He needs you!" Sirius continued. "And you're botching the job right now. I don't know why on God's green earth he accepted you into his life, but if he did, you better hold up your end."

"Would you push me away, if I let you?"

"Perhaps. You would be safer that way. I'm sorry."

"Are you even listening to me?" Sirius shouted.

"I'll just hurt you like I'll hurt everyone else."

"He planned it. He planned it all," Severus growled to himself, emphasizing each word by banging his head against the wall behind him.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked, loosening his grip on his arch-nemesis.

"Nothing," Severus dismissed.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Hide yourself, mutt," Severus sneered as he went to answer the demanding knock that would quit. No sooner had he begun opening the door when two identical voices began to speak over each other.

"Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley," Severus addressed them.

"Can we come in? We need to talk to you," Fred, or maybe it was George, said.

"Can't it wait?"

"No!" they said together, and now that he thought about it, the two of them looked awfully upset about something. It was unlike the twins to bother him.

"Alright," he agreed. "Make it quick. I'm a busy man."

"We will," one of them promised. After he closed the door, they began to alternate telling him their reason for being there.

"Harry's in trouble -

" - he's in the girl's bathroom on the second floor - "

" - and, and - something's happening - "

" - you need to stop it - "

" - Malfoy's behind it - "

"Slow down," Severus asked, concerned the moment Draco's name was brought into it.

"There's no time," one of them said.

"What exactly is happening?" Severus asked.

"They - they're - "

" - taking advantage of him." Severus sucked in his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Leave," he said quietly. "I'll take care of it." The twins left without a second dismissal. Before they had even left, Severus was grabbing his wand.

"Stop," Sirius said, taking hold of Severus' wrist.

"Let me go," Severus growled, clearly restraining himself.

"I'll take care of it," Sirius said.

"No, you won't," Severus contracted. "He's my son, and this is my responsibility."

"I'm his godfather. Please, let me deal with them. You need to be there for Harry. I don't."

"Fine," Severus agreed. "I'll stay long enough to get Harry. Whoever is there is yours."