After Minerva left for the night, Severus walked up the staircase, heading towards the seventh floor. One of the things that he found peaceful during his strolls throughout the castle was that this was the time where not many would be out in the corridors. On occasion, he had caught some wayward students, but during the beginning of the term not many would be out.

Usually these strolls would give him those last moments of peace, but tonight he was on a mission. Going to the portrait and saying the password, Severus slipped into the Gryffindor Common room. When he walked in, he was surprised to see that there was no one in the room. Casting a Disillusionment charm on himself, he made his trek towards the fifth year boys' dormitories. Walking in the room, he saw five beds. Most of them had their curtains closed, but the one he wanted to get to was still open. Walking over to Harry's bed, Severus saw that he was sleeping peacefully. He stood there looking at the child for a moment.

Changing his attention to the foot of the child's bed he lowered the charm on himself and shook the dog that was laying there. The dog looked up at the dour man and carefully jumped off the bed. Walking towards a corner of the room, Severus cast a silencing charm around them and Sirius transformed.

“What are you doing here?” Sirius asked.

“I need your help,” Severus said. Sirius raised his eyebrow to the Potions Master. “Don't look at me like that. Something's come up.”

“Okay, Severus,” Sirius said. “What is it?”

Severus and Sirius talked for a moment. When Severus lowered the charm from around them, Sirius brow was creased.

“Let me let Harry know that I won't be here,” Sirius said.

Severus nodded as he watched Sirius walk over to the head of Harry's bed.

“Harry,” Sirius whispered. “Pup, wake up.”

“Sirius,” Harry moaned, sleepily. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing, pup,” Sirius assured. “I just want to let you know that I won't be here when you wake up. Something's come up.”

“Oh, okay,” Harry said stretching. “That's okay, I'll see Da tomorrow.”

Harry quickly went back to sleep after saying that. Not seeing the shocked look on Sirius' and Severus' face.

“Who are you calling Da?” Sirius asked.

He was answered with soft snores as Harry went back to sleep. Sirius gave Severus an accusing look before leaving the dormitory. Severus watched Sirius leave and turned and looked back at the child in the bed. Walking closer, Severus pulled the duvet that fell off back over the child when he stretched. Laying his hand on the boy's forehead, he felt Harry lean into the touch. He watched the child for a moment longer then removed his hand and left out of the dormitories.

________0000_________00000_________00000

Draco laid, in the bed, awake. As the rest of his dorm mates slept, Draco couldn't. He couldn't ease his mind. To be honest, he couldn't sleep for a while, being at home didn't help. Now that he was at school, he really couldn't ease his mind. Deep down he knew that he needed help, but he also knew that if he asked for help he would be killed.

Draco knocked on the door. He had just been summoned to the library. When an Enter was muffled from the other side of the closed door, Draco went in.

“Ah, Draco,” Voldemort said. “Please, come have a seat.”

Draco, slightly trembling, swallowed and stepped forward.

“Tea?” Voldemort offered.

“No, thank you,” Draco said, his voice much stronger than he was actually feeling.

“Sit,” Voldemort ordered.

Draco quickly sat down across from the Dark Lord. The air was thick with tension from Draco. He balled up his fist to keep his hands from shaking.

“There is something that I want you to do for me,” Voldemort finally said after a moment of silence.

It had been a long time since Draco felt like crying in his pillow. As the lump in his throat threatened to get bigger, the more he wished he didn't have to do this.

Sighing, Draco turned on his side and curled up in his bed. For the first time in three years he wished he still had his godfather. The first traitorous tear escaped as he silently cried in his closed four poster bed.

______0000______00000_______0000____0000

Remus did not return with Sirius and Minerva when they headed back to Hogwarts. There was another mission for him. Something that had been bugging the back of his mind since he talked with Minerva in her room.

He knew it wouldn't take him long to find him. It would never take him long to find the wolf that turned him. He would never forget that smell. That smell haunted his dreams. Every full moon he would curse that smell and the wolf that smell permeated from.

Walking down a deserted, desolate street, he knew he was getting close. He walked up to a rundown house that didn't seem to be structurally sound. Not even bothering to knock, Remus walked in the doorway.

Fenir was laying on a threadbare couch. His eyes were closed. Remus just stood in the doorway. He knew it wouldn't be long before the elder werewolf knew he was there.

“It's been a long time,” growled Fenir. His eyes were still closed.

“Not long enough,” Remus retorted.

Fenir opened his eyes and looked at the younger werewolf in the doorway.

“Why are you here?”

“I had to see for sure,” Remus said walking in the room and sitting on the only other piece of furniture in the room; a worn armchair.

“What?” Fenir growled again.

“If you were really stupid enough to think I wouldn't know.” Remus voice was calm not giving any hints to the war raging in him.

“What are you going on about?” Fenir asked, exasperatedly.

“You kidnapped, Minerva. You attacked Poppy.”

“And what are they to you,” Fenir sneered. This time succeeding in sitting up and looking at Remus. “You don't want to be in a pack. Are they your pack now?”

Remus just tilted his head.

“You tried to turn Poppy,” Remus accused.

“So what if I did?” Fenir sagged back against the couch again. It groaned under his weight. “What are you going to do about it?”

“You cursed me,” Remus said. “I will not allow you to do so to another.”

“And what are you planning on doing?”

Remus' eyes turned amber.

______0000______0000________0000

Remus staggered up to the castle. He was glad that it was nighttime. Hopefully all the students would be in their beds and not wandering the halls. He made his way down to the dungeons. He knocked on the door, once he made it to his destination.

The door opened by itself and Remus went in.

“What on earth happened to you?” Severus said, as he got up from the armchair he was sitting in.

“I had a talk with a certain werewolf.” Remus said as he walked over to the sofa and plopping himself onto it.

“It looks like you did more than talk,” Severus observed, casting a diagnostic charm over the werewolf. “You were just supposed to find him.”

“I did find him,” Remus said, looking up at the Potions Master.

“Not interact with him.” Severus continued, not paying attention to Remus' remark.

“He was ordered to take Minerva,” Remus said, cutting Severus off at the end of his statement.

Severus froze.

“Who?” Severus' previous objections were forgotten.

“Aberforth.”

Severus backed up as if he was hit, and sat down in the chair he was in before.

“He also said that they knew of your adoption to Minerva. He told them. Minerva's abduction was insurance. If you did not take Harry back to his relatives...” Remus stopped mid-sentence.

“What?” Severus growled.

“Greyback had orders to turn her.”

Severus felt that if he wasn't sitting down already, he would have collapsed on the floor.

Turn her. Those two words rattled off in his mind. They were planning on turning his mother into a werewolf. Poppy's attack. She was maimed beyond repair. Her eyesight would probably never return. They were trying to hurt him in the worse way.

_______0000______0000__________0000

Remus stayed in Severus' chambers that night. In the morning, Severus left out of his chambers, leaving a note allowing Remus to stay until he was fully recovered from his run in with Fenir. Since Remus wasn't suppose to be in the school, Severus left instructions to call on Harry's elf, Dobby, and order himself some food. Severus was still angry with Tami for leaving even though he heard the excuses that she gave for leaving Harry so vulnerable.

Walking down the corridor, Severus came upon Draco who was standing at the foot of the stairs.

“If you're planning on levitating up the stairs, you're doing it all wrong,” Severus drawled.

Draco turned and looked up at his godfather. Even though Severus lost his title as godfather to the child, he was always able to read the boy and right now, he knew that Draco really wanted to talk.

“Follow me,” Severus ordered, as he turned on his heel and headed back to his office.

Footfalls behind him let Severus know that Draco had indeed followed him. They walked in silence. Neither one saying a word the short trek to the Potions Master's office. Opening the door, Severus allowed Draco to enter into the office first, then following the boy in and closing the door behind him.

“Uncle Severus,” Draco said after a long moment of silence.

“Now, Mr. Malfoy,” Severus tsked, raising his eyebrow. “You know that I am no longer to be called by that title.”

“Please, Uncle Sev,” Draco pleaded. “I miss my godfather.”

“That is your family's decision,” Severus retorted. “Not mine.”

Draco seemed to deflate in front of his Head of House.

“Please, Professor,” Draco said, his voice shaking a little. “I need help.”

___0000______0000______0000____0000

Harry woke up and looked at his hand. He was happy to see that the scares were gone. Getting up and gathering his clothes so that he could get cleaned up, he hoped he never would have another detention with the overgrown toad.

The next thing he noticed when he came back from the bathroom was that Snuffles wasn't there. For a second worry began to seep in, but then he remembered that Sirius woke him up last night and told him that he wasn't going to be in the room. Then he recollected that his Da was here last night too.

He abruptly stopped what he was doing after that last thought. It surprised him that he thought of his Professor as Da, but then again after everything that happened over the summer, it really wasn't all that shocking.

After the initial shock wore off, Harry finished dressing and headed to the Common Room and waited for Hermione and Ron to get ready so they could go down to breakfast together. While he was waiting on his friends he had thought about just heading down to the dungeons, but dismissed that idea since Potions was the first class of the day, and he knew that he would see his Da at breakfast.

A small smile came across him as he thought of the name that he seemed to adopt for his Professor. It just seemed natural to say.

Hermione was the first to come down the stairs.

“Harry,” Hermione said, clearly surprised that he was even up.

“Morning,” Harry said, looking of from the sofa in front of the fireplace.

“Where's Ron?” she asked, sitting next to Harry.

“Surprisingly, he's still asleep.”

“That is surprising,” Hermione chuckled. “Doesn't he know that breakfast will be served in a few hours?”

“Ha Ha,” a voice said from behind them.

Harry turned around and grinned at Ron standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“You ready to go?” Ron said, walking towards them. “I'm starved.”

Hermione and Harry looked at each other, then got up and followed Ron out of the portrait.

The trio made it to the Great Hall and took their places at the table to begin eating. Harry made a cursory glance at the Head table and didn't see his Da. He shrugged his shoulders as he sat down, thinking that it was still early and not everyone was at breakfast yet. As the meal progressed, worry began to fill Harry as he kept glancing up at the table and the Potions Professor still hadn't made an apperance.

“Harry,” Hermione whispered. “What's wrong?” She could feel the tensing nature that Harry was emitting.

“Nothing,” Harry dismissed, looking down at his barely eaten plate.

Hermione looked at her friend in worry. She then looked up at the Head table and figured what the problem was.

“I'm sure something's just come up,” Hermione whispered again. “We'll see him in class.”

Harry looked at her, surprised that she figured what was wrong, but then realized that it was probably obvious. His Da said that it couldn't be known of their Parental bonding and here he was already blowing it. He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm the panic he felt.

He'd see him in class. He'd see him in class. That went through his mind over and over as he attempted to calm himself. Sadly, it wasn't working. He needed to see his Da and he needed to see him now.

Abruptly, Harry stood up and without a word to Hermione or Ron, he left and headed for the stairs. He practically jumped down the stairs trying to get to the dungeons in a hurry. Once at the bottom of the stairs he made his way towards Snape's chambers. As he was walking the door to Snape's office opened up and instinct told Harry to hide. He hid in the shadows as he saw his Da and Malfoy coming out of the office.

“I want you to come to me if you have any problems,” Severus said.

“Thanks, Uncle Sev,” Draco said, softly, and turned and left before Severus could ever respond to that.

Severus stood in the hallway and watch as Draco made his way towards the stairs and then ascend up them. When he realized that Draco was no longer at earshot, he turned towards the shadowy hallway.

“Stop hiding and get in here, Potter.”

He turned and entered his office. Harry slowly walked out of his hiding spot and went into the opened office, closing the door behind him.

“Why were you lurking in the hallways?” Severus asked as he sat down behind his desk.

“You weren't at breakfast,” Harry accused, totally ignoring the question.

“This may come as a shock to you, but I am a Head of House, and I must be available for my students within the House,” Severus drawled, leaning back in his seat.

“But you weren't at breakfast,” Harry accused again.

“If you had waited a few more moments, you would have seen me come into the Great Hall. I was going to walk with Draco and join the other Professors at the table, but I seemed to have a wayward student that felt the need to lurk the hallways.” Severus gave a pointed look at Harry.

“I wasn't lurking,” Harry said, petulantly. “I just was coming to see you.”

Severus raised his eyebrow to that statement.

Harry didn't understand why he was feeling the way he was or why he needed Snape to understand why he was so panicked in the beginning.

“Have you eaten?” Severus asked bringing Harry out of his musing.

“I -”

“Don't even think about lying to me,” Severus said in a low drawl.

“Some.” Severus gave him a skeptical look. “Okay a little,” Harry amended. “I was worried.” He gave in a rush explanation.

Severus humphed as he waved his hand and cleared off a space on his desk. He then knocked on it and food appeared.

“Sit,” Severus ordered. “And I expect what I put on your plate to be emptied. I will not have you starving yourself or missing meals.”

Harry sat down across from Severus and waited to be served. Severus filled a plate and sat it down in front of the child.

“Eat.”

He then filled himself a plate and began to eat. A small smile came across Harry's lips as he picked up his fork and began to eat.

TBC