~~~~HP~~~~

Even though he knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, Harry had really wanted to wait up for Malfoy's arrival so he could find out what had happened at the meeting. Unfortunately, he ended up falling asleep well before midnight, without any sign of the Slytherin showing up, and of course on a night he actually wanted to have a vision, he wasn't lucky enough to have one. That didn't mean he slept soundly; no instead he tossed and turned through his normal set of nightmares.

It was a nightmare about Ginny being attacked by Bellatrix, where Harry stood helpless watching her get attacked over and over again, that woke him up at quarter past five in the morning. He bolted up trying to catch his breath and grabbed for his glasses, ignoring the tears slowly falling down his cheeks. No amount of telling himself it was only a dream would help him fall back asleep, so knowing he was up for the day, he grabbed some clothes from the wardrobe, a white long sleeved shirt and blue jumper with jeans, and went to shower now that he no longer had the muggle cast.

Snape was still presumably asleep and it was too early to go up to the hospital wing to see Ginny, so he decided to get a head start cooking some breakfast for himself and Snape. It was the least he could do while he was well enough because he had a feeling that starting Saturday he was not going to be able to do much around the quarters.

Snape flew into the kitchen a half hour later, clearly surprised to see Harry awake and cooking.

"I thought I'd get some breakfast started," the Boy-Who-Lived explained.

"Thank you, but you need not cook for me," Snape said, taking over for Harry at the stove finishing up the sausages.

"I like to cook," Harry explained as he sat down at the table. "Believe it or not, it was my favorite chore to do back at my aunt and uncle's house."

He could see Snape considering that statement and was likely thinking back to his marks in Potions class. Since Harry couldn't defend himself saying that half the issues in class were Malfoy sabotaging his work, he poured himself a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee for Snape. Without another word, the professor placed a plate of food in front of Harry.

"Thank you," the Gryffindor said with a small smile as he started to eat his eggs. "Did you hear from Malfoy last night?"

Snape turned around quickly, staring stoically at Harry, and sharply answered, "I will not be discussing with you what happened at the latest meeting nor any in the future, understood? Do not ask again."

"Of course sir... I didn't mean...," Harry looked away quickly, he could feel the discomfort emanating from his professor. "Can I go see Ginny today?"

Snape sat down across from Harry placing his cup of morning medications next to his glass of orange juice.

"I have to meet with the Headmaster this morning and will drop you off on my way," the professor said casually, "Please bring your school work. I was serious that you need to get as much completed this week as you possibly can."

"Yes sir, I'll pack it up after breakfast and work at the hospital wing."

The tension in the air of the small kitchen could be cut with a knife as they both ate their breakfast. Harry knew the former spy was withholding not only information, but likely it was the information Harry was so desperate to know. Maybe Malfoy hadn't gone through with it after all. Slytherins weren't known for their bravery and Malfoy was probably the worst of the lot. If Snape can't spy anymore and Malfoy chickened out, where did that leave the Order? Of course, if that were the case, Snape wouldn't have said that they wouldn't discuss further meetings.

He finished his breakfast in silence then immediately went to gather his things. He filled his school bag with his Potions, Herbology, and Defense textbooks, muggle notebooks and pens, and the latest letter he received from Dudley which he intended to reply to before the week was out. According to the last letter, Dudley was struggling with his parents' death and living with Aunt Marge was becoming unbearable to him. Harry found himself feeling strangely connected to his cousin at the moment and wanted to help as much as he possibly could.

Mrs. Weasley was not in the hospital wing when he walked out of Madam Pomfrey's office and Snape didn't say a word to him after they arrived, but instead simply continued walking out the door to see the headmaster, leaving Harry alone with Ginny. He sat in the comfortable chair at Ginny's bedside taking hold of her almost too cold hand. Most of her bruises were finally healed, and the red cut along her face appeared slightly better than yesterday, but was still red and raw. If it weren't for that angry cut, she would look as if she were simply sleeping.

"Hi Ginny," he said quietly, "I'm back."

Harry tried not to feel silly for talking to someone lying unconscious in a bed. Madam Pomfrey explained yesterday that she may be able to hear what was going on around her, but in Harry's well-versed experience of being unconscious for days at a time, that was not the case. It didn't stop him from wanting to believe it though.

"I'm so sorry Ginny," he started with, "I didn't want any of this to happen, especially to your family. You guys are the closest I have to one and I'm always putting you all in danger."

It felt good to be able to speak freely about what was on his mind. Without Mrs. Weasley or Madam Pomfrey present, he could say what was on his mind, which was exactly what he did. He talked about his aunt and uncle's death and that while he wasn't happy they were dead, he definitely wasn't sad they were gone either. Did that make him a bad person? He'd always assumed he'd be long gone from their home when they eventually died and wouldn't have put much thought in it one way or the other. That led him to Dudley, his changing relationship with his cousin, and how vulnerable it made him feel.

He talked about his cancer and the chemotherapy, how it seemed counterproductive to make him so sick while trying to cure a disease, how ironic it was that magic couldn't do a single thing to help it, and how after all of his encounters with Voldemort he's learned he really didn't want to die. But what if this killed him? What if his luck had been used up on Voldemort and the Boy-Who-Lived couldn't survive a muggle disease he shouldn't have been able to get in the first place? Somehow that seemed like a fitting end for him.

Through his winding rambles he ended up in the place he deep down had wanted to start, but didn't know how - Snape. It was only because he was all alone with an unconscious Ginny that he could admit he enjoyed living with the sarcastic professor. Sometime within the last month between the cancer, chemotherapy, attack on Privet Drive, and learning about the whole other world this Snape came from, he'd gone from hating the professor, to tolerating him, to respecting him. How could such a large change happen seemingly without him noticing? And what should he do with this information now that he has it? It was a lot to think about.

Feeling better now that his mind was clear, he focused onto his assignments, starting with Potions as he was already behind on that one and Snape was sure to overanalyze it to death. A part of him was looking forward to individual classes at least to start next year. Surely it would make understanding the material easier if there weren't any distractions. Not only that, it would help delay the inevitable, when the whole school learned about his illness. Maybe he just wouldn't go back to classes again after all.

~~~~SS~~~~

"You are certain he was killed?" Albus asked.

"Draco reported that the Dark Lord himself cast the killing curse. I doubt he missed his target," the former spy answered, "If we already do not trust his intelligence, then this arrangement will not work."

While Severus had been relieved that Draco had not been able to cast the killing curse last night, it had come at a cost to the young Slytherin which unfortunately was experiencing the Cruciatus curse for the first time. Not many people knew that it wasn't uncommon for a soon-to-be marked Death Eater to be unable to cast the killing curse especially if it was his or her first time. Unfortunately - or worse luckily - Draco had done enough damage in the form of torture to their hostage to at least deem himself worthy of the mark; a thought that turned the professor's stomach no matter how he looked at it.

Albus paced across the fireplace threshold, his hands clasped behind his back. He was dressed in bright blue robes with snowflakes scattered across looking out of place not only due to the season, but also because of the sober conversation they were having.

"You are right, but I wonder why his body has not yet appeared. We have every resource available to us out looking for him or any sign of him; all have turned up empty handed."

"I don't doubt there's a reason Albus, but like most things relating to the Dark Lord, we will have to wait. In the meantime, shall someone inform the Weasley's?"

Albus stopped mid-stride and turned to the professor, "No we should let this play out for now. They have plenty to worry about with young Miss. Weasley's condition. Between the castle and Grimmauld Place, the rest of the family is safe."

"As you wish," Severus disagreed with his decision; he was never one to instill hope in others, especially if it were false hope. He was much too practical for that.

"You disagree?"

"Of course I disagree!" He yelled pounding his hand onto the desk in front of him. "Waiting to tell them the inevitable does not alter the result. He's still dead and telling his family today or whenever his body appears will not change that fact."

"That is true, but Severus you know what they'll go through."

A look of disgust crossed the younger professor's was hardly an appropriate time to bring something like that up. Unfortunately, he did know almost exactly how the Weasley parents would feel finding out their son was dead, however stringing them along with hope of finding him would only make it harder to bear in the end.

"I shall break the news to Molly and Arthur at the appropriate time. I must say it's one of the least favorite parts of my duties," Albus announced and Severus raised his hands in defeat, "and young Mr. Malfoy, how is he managing?"

"As one would expect, but I anticipate no issues in his continued support to the Order going forward. Dare I say the events of last night solidified his allegiance to our cause," Severus frowned. He had been wanting to discuss expanding Draco's activities for the Order and decided this was the best chance he'd get to do it casually, "I also think he can provide some assistance within his house here at the school."

Albus sat down at his desk. He picked up a piece of parchment, looking it over briefly before turning his attention back to Severus.

"I did not realize there were issues within your house, my boy," his blue eyes narrowing behind his half-moon spectacles. "Surely, you are more than capable of handling any that should arise without needing help from the student body."

Severus ignored the Headmaster's bait, "As I was preparing Draco for his initiation, it crossed my mind that had I known a fraction of what I was signing up for, it may have deterred me from joining. We should consider allowing Draco the ability to discuss his current predicament, stealthily of course, within the house. It might cause some disruption to the Dark Lord's future recruitment plans."

It was a big risk and one that had zero benefit for the Order, but someone had to try. Severus considered, given his own situation that he could do it, but he didn't want to draw any additional attention to himself and any potential Death Eaters likely would not take him seriously anyway. It would work best to try to convince them from within their social structure than from outside of it. If I could save one student from the life of evil servitude, it was worth the effort.

"Will you give me time to consider your request Severus?" the younger wizard nodded; it was better than a flat out no.

The rest of the week went surprisingly easy for both Severus and Harry. They got back into a closer to normal sleeping and eating schedule and fell into a routine between them, which immensely helped both of their moods towards each other and those around them.

Harry planned on visiting Ginny every day alongside a rotating set of the Weasleys. However on the second day, after returning to their quarters from visiting with Fred and George while at the hospital wing, Harry was met with a box of muggle medical masks on the table in the sitting room.

"What are these?" The young wizard harshly asked.

"Ah, that was a quick delivery," Severus said, summoning tea for the both of them as had become their afternoon routine. "With all the Weasley's visiting their sister and daughter, you need to stay protected."

Harry opened the box and pulled out what appeared to be a piece of paper with loops on both ends. He'd seen these on Aunt Petunia's medical shows and when he got his port placed last month.

"I'm not wearing this," Harry threw the mask back into the box and sat down on the sofa to drink his tea.

"You make it sound like you have been given a choice," immediately Severus regretted that statement; it was too similar to the infamous crossroads and now the second time in a week something triggered that memory. If he wasn't careful he would lose his mind trying to keep the realities straight.

"You have no idea what potentially infectious germs the Weasley's are unknowingly bringing into the Hospital Wing during your visits," Severus continued sipping his tea. "The problem occurs when an illness, that goes undetected because Mr. Weasley's - take your pick of which one - immune system can battle it before it causes any major symptoms towards him, is then passed to you. It will not have the same fate against your much weaker immune system and where he might end up with a little nasal congestion, you could get pneumonia which can quickly kill you in your current condition."

"I don't care. I told you, I'm not going to wear that thing!" The young wizard yelled slamming his tea down a bit too hard, causing it to spill onto the table.

Severus pulled out his wand and proceeded to clean up the tea, "It is simple Harry; no mask, no hospital wing. The choice is yours."

In the end, Harry didn't really have a choice because he wanted to see Ginny and whichever Weasley was also visiting, so he wore the mask during each trip to the hospital wing. Between his lack of hair, too skinny frame, and now the mask, Severus could tell Harry felt extremely self-conscious. The professor would give almost anything to take away his embarrassment, but not at the risk to his health.

Severus continued throughout the week with the school potion supplies, making some good progress getting back on schedule, and he managed to finish his new Defense curriculum by making the last of the required changes that did not get approved by the Board of Governors. He had a good start on his lesson plans, both for his standard classes and Harry's private tutoring, however most of the work would come the final week before term started. While he was pleased to finally get a chance at teaching defense, he ultimately wished it was under different circumstances.

There was only one time in the week that his dark mark burned and based on the abnormally long length of time it was the Dark Lord setting out to torture him with it. He was able to test out the newly created burn salve, which did not help at all, so he went back into his laboratory trying out yet another formulation. Twice that week, Draco stopped by for more training and by some miracle, both teenagers managed not to kill each other during their short passings. Near the end of the week, Albus reluctantly agreed to allow Draco to speak to his housemates about his Death Eaters experience, but all outgoing information had to be approved by Severus first; adding yet another level of responsibility onto the professor.

To Severus's surprise, Harry finished his summer work to the professor's high standards with less revision than he had anticipated. With homework out of the way, they started going through how lessons for the beginning of the year would look for him. On the days he did not have chemotherapy, he would have 2 hours of professor-led tutoring each night after dinner and during the day when he didn't have chemotherapy, he would work on 2 subjects with his student tutor for that subject for one and a half hours each. This would obviously change based on how he felt after each round and on chemotherapy days he would not have anything scheduled unless he felt up for the lesson.

To Severus's displeasure, this would all be occurring in his quarters. The defense office, and obviously the library and Gryffindor common room carried too much of a risk of infection. Since Minerva was Harry's official guardian and was coordinating his school schedule, Severus briefly considered using her quarters, but in the end - if he did not want Harry traveling throughout the school - having a set of professors and students in his quarters was ultimately the best option he had.

What was not discussed from neither the Order nor the Dark Lord - by finding the body - was Charlie Weasley. Severus obviously knew that the headmaster did not inform Molly and Arthur what Draco reported and it infuriated him. Either he didn't trust Draco's recounting of the meeting or he was just trying to delay the inevitable. Neither one was good. What did Albus think he would gain by delaying the news? Severus hoped that the Weasley's never found out he knew before they did, otherwise it was not likely to go over very well.

~~~~HP~~~~

Friday came upon them much faster than he and Snape had hoped. Tomorrow was the first round of consolidation chemotherapy, where he would start the day up at the hospital wing for the Intrathecal and then finish down in Snape's quarters for 5 hours of treatment which included an hour of one medication and 4 hours of another. When thinking about the week of continuous he did, five hours didn't seem so daunting even though he was not looking forward to it. Then on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday he would get another 4 hours each day, and this would repeat the following week as well. The schedule overwhelmed Harry so much that Snape finally created a schedule on some parchment for the next 8 weeks and posted it in the lavatory - two bad weeks (Saturday - Tuesday), followed by 2 good weeks (Saturday only), that repeated once - October seemed too far away for the both of them.

Snape must have been feeling generous because he allowed both Ron and Hermione over after dinner. Harry clearly needed the distraction before tomorrow and it was obvious the professor was not focused enough tonight to help; in fact Snape had seemed distracted most of the nights this week.

The trio were sitting in Harry's bedroom, Harry and Hermione sitting side by side on the bed while Ron was at Harry's desk frantically copying Harry's homework, but trying to make it sound like it was his own.

"You're telling me Snape's going to teach defense?" Ron asked, turning slightly green at the thought.

"Yes he is," Harry answered, almost holding in a laugh, "Let me know what Neville looks like when he finds out."

"So... you really won't be at the welcoming feast?" Ron asked suddenly seriously. This was a topic they'd discussed already, but Ron was in denial that Harry's schedule and living arrangements needed to change this year.

"No," Harry said casually. At first he was disappointed but after putting more thought to it, he really didn't want to be stared at all night. "September 1st is the day after chemo and even though it's an easier one, I just don't want the attention. Snape said if I was feeling up to it I could, but I know he would make me wear that stupid mask."

"Harry, it's for your safety," Hermione reprimanded while Ron rolled his eyes at her.

"Have you heard anything about Charlie?" Harry abruptly changed the subject not wanting to get into a debate with Hermione about his health.

"Nothing yet Mate," Ron said sadly, "I'll be sure to tell you as soon as we hear something, but it's been about a week and that can't be good news."

Harry had been thinking about Charlie and Ginny all week and frustrated that the Order hadn't been able to do much else for either of them. The Weasley's were some of the nicest people he knew and they didn't deserve something like this to happen to them.

Harry shivered both from the thought of Charlie still missing and from the cold dungeon air. It seemed no matter how warm he dressed - it could be two layers under his jumper and thick warm socks like he was dressed now - he was always cold. Mrs. Weasley had made him a couple of warm blankets that he could casually use, but they always ended up on the sofa which is where they were now. He lifted his legs to help stay warm instead.

Hermione noticed her friend shiver and she looked around for his blanket. Remembering she'd seen it in the sitting room, she swung her feet over the bed to go and retrieve it for him when surprisingly, the red blanket came flying in through the partially opened door.

"Thanks 'Moine," Harry said, grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around himself.

Hermione looked over at Ron, who was still focused on Harry's homework, then back to Harry. She had been thinking about the red blanket, maybe she accidentally did a non-verbal accio... Or more like a non-verbal and wandless accio? It didn't matter in the end because Harry wasn't shivering anymore which warmed her heart.

"Not a problem Harry," she replied. He looked exhausted and she was about to suggest that she and Ron leave when the door opened and Snape walked in.

The professor looked between the three teenagers lingering a little longer on Ron as his student was trying to hide the fact that he was using Harry's essays to write his own.

"You won't learn a thing, Mr. Weasley, if you copy Harry's essay," Snape was leaning against the lavatory door glaring down at Ron who audibly gulped. "Do you know why professors assign summer work?"

"Erm... So we don't forget things?" Harry was proud his friend managed to remember and regurgitate from Hermione's "why summer assignments are important" lecture she gave to them every June.

"Yes," Snape said, seemingly impressed by the redhead's answer, "but also as a way to see which students still need assistance before moving onto new material. By copying a different student's essay, how can your professors know what level you personally are performing at?"

Harry furrowed his brows thinking this through. He was pretty sure Snape was lying, but didn't want to call the man out on it unless he was 100% sure. There was no way Snape ever cared if a student was behind in Potions before they started the next year.

"Food for thought," the professor added. He looked over to Harry, "I came in because I saw a red blanket flying off the sofa."

"Sorry, Severus," Harry said ignoring Ron's shocked face, "Hermione summoned it for me."

Snape looked over to Hermione who was nervously biting her lower lip. In his other reality, by sixth year these two eventually felt just as comfortable at Severus's quarters and Spinner's End as they did at the Burrow. Obviously here, their negative history was still a lot to overcome and he could feel the uneasiness throughout the room; a clear signal to leave.

"You have a busy day tomorrow, not much longer ok?"

Harry and Hermione nodded as he walked out, closing the door behind himself. Ron's face was a bright red that almost perfectly matched his hair.

"Severus?!" Ron yelled at Harry, "why the bloody hell would you call that git Severus?!"

Hermione stood up to stand between her two best friends "Ron," she said reaching for his hand.

"Erm... He asked me to... since I'm living here and all," Harry had expected this and if he was honest, he was surprised it hadn't come sooner. "It's not a big deal."

"Yes Harry, it is very much a big deal," Ron started shoving his things into his school bag. "I've tried my best to be supportive because, seriously you need it right now, but this is too much!"

Harry was now standing up ready to defend himself both verbally and, if needed, physically. Luckily Ron didn't grab for his wand which Harry couldn't do much about anyway.

"You should have been at our house Harry, don't you see that?"

Hermione seemed to know exactly where Ron was taking this - a fact that frustrated Harry because they had evidently been discussing him previously - since she immediately pulled at him and said, "Ron, this is not the time."

"No, Hermione," the redhead pulled away, "my parents begged Dumbledore to bring you to stay with us when they found out you were sick, did you know that? Even though they knew it would make them targets for Voldemort... And look what happened?! They came trying to find you anyways and now my brother is missing and my sister might not ever wake up! And this whole time you're becoming, whatever this is -" he waved his hands around the room to make his point clear, " - with one of them! My parents don't deserve this, they're good people Harry!"

"Ron, that's not fair," Hermione pleaded, barely able to hold Ron back; she pulled out her wand just in case.

"Don't you think I know that?!" Harry yelled back. "I feel awful about what happened, ok? First Sirius and now Charlie and Ginny. Don't you think I know all this already?"

They fell into a turbulent silence and it seemed as if both boys had lost some steam. Hermione let go of Ron, to collect their things so they could leave.

"It's all your fault," Ron said it ever so quietly but that was all it took; Harry had heard him.

Hermione held her breath as she watched between her best friends and then it happened as if they were in slow motion. Harry turned away from them clearly hurt by Ron's declaration, something he was already feeling about himself, but then immediately turned back and ran to tackle Ron to the ground. Hermione screamed and tried to separate the boys.

It felt good for Harry to release some of the pent up aggression he had over all the things beyond his control right now. Ideally, it would not have been at Ron and on the stone floor of the dungeon, but at that moment he didn't care. He didn't feel the pain of his back slamming against the floor when Ron, who was stronger than Harry even if he hadn't been so ill, tackled him back down or when Ron punched him in the nose causing blood to gush down his face. Harry was numb all over; his best friend agreed he was responsible for all the death and destruction around him. He always had been and he always would be at least until he killed Voldemort; that was unless he was killed by Voldemort or the cancer first.

Snape came uncharacteristically running in the room after hearing Hermione scream and her continued screams. He mentally scolded himself for not anticipating this and yelled, "Enough!" while pulling Ron off from on top of Harry.

"Get out!" he yelled at both Ron and Hermione, simultaneously bending down to help Harry up off the cold floor.

"C'mon 'Mione," Ron said, lifting his hand to feel his own bloody lip before storming out.

Hermione's face couldn't hide the devastation she was feeling; tears were streaming down her cheeks, "I'll catch up with you later Harry, I promise."

Snape glared at her as Harry simply nodded and she too left.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Snape said helping the young wizard to the lavatory and sitting him down on the closed loo.

There was blood everywhere from his nose and Harry questioned in his head how muggles fix broken noses. He was pinching the bridge while Snape charmed a towel cold placing it over top and transfigured another into cotton which he placed under Harry's nose.

"Is it bad?" Harry finally asked.

"Yes it is," he was doing all he could, but the blood wasn't slowing down.

"It was my fault... I attacked him first," Harry mumbled.

"We will deal with that later, I need to get your shirt off to inspect your back." Harry tried to ignore the panic in Snape's voice, which was becoming difficult.

Harry lifted his arms, but grimaced in pain from his back. Noticing his discomfort, Snape took out his wand and vanished the young wizard's shirt. His back was covered in large, dark purple bruises.

"He's got a lot on his mind," Harry continued disregarding Snape's request to discuss it later.

"And you don't? Even so, that does not give him cause to..." the professor trailed off as if remembering something.

"Muggle flight?"

"Indeed," Snape said thinking back to both their conversation at the end of term last year in the hospital wing as well as a memory from his old reality.

"The bleeding is finally slowing and I don't think it's broken. I'm going to get some bruise salve for your back; I think it's best to use in this instance," Snape finally replied after a long silence at the same time summoning a small round tin. "I'm going to apply just a small amount of this to your back to control the bruising."

"Ok sir," Harry agreed, feeling warm, rough hands gently apply the bruise salve. It was different from the many times Madam Pomfrey used the same salve on him in the past. He could almost imagine this was how a parent would care for their child; ever so gently with concern.

Snape applied just enough to turn the bruises from dark purple to yellow, so they were no longer actively bleeding under the skin. Satisfied with his work, he spelled a new shirt onto the teen.

"That's the best I can do. I don't think we need to contact Alton, at least not right now anyway," Snape leaned against the sink. "Care to tell me what happened?"

Even though Harry was ready to take the blame before, he did make the first move after all, now he was too exhausted to go through it all.

"I got angry at something Ron said," Harry shrugged, "he was just telling the truth though."

Snape narrowed his eyes. "I'm having a hard time coming up with something Mr. Weasley could say to make you react as you did."

Harry just glared back at Snape. The last thing he wanted to do was explain this to Snape. While he was learning to respect the professor, he still wasn't comfortable talking about something as personal as one of his biggest fears.

"You have a busy day tomorrow," Snape conceded, picking up on Harry's uneasiness. "Go to bed and we'll discuss this tomorrow."

"Thank you sir."

Harry walked back into his bedroom and changed into the pyjama bottoms that matched the shirt Snape had spelled on him. His back was still extremely sore, so he tried to sleep on his side as much as possible. He fell asleep with his scar both aching and tingling.

~~~~AU SS~~~~

Severus hated being called out of class for any reason; it was disruptive to the other students, it put his lesson plans behind schedule, but most of all it was embarrassing. Today, not only did that just occur during his second year lecture on swelling solutions, but it had to be for something as foolish as fighting. What could his son have been thinking; muggle fighting of all things?

He stormed into the hospital wing, robes billowing around him, where both boys sat on beds opposite each other, thankfully with a curtain between them so neither could see the other. Poppy was tutting about between them reprimanding both boys about their atrocious behavior.

Severus approached the bed of his 14 year old son. It was less than a week since Harry's name was selected from the Goblet of Fire and he knew it had caused a rift between Harry and Ron, however he never expected it to go this far; otherwise he would have absolutely stepped in. Harry was nursing a bloody lip with a handkerchief and had the start of a black eye when Severus walked up to his bedside.

"Care to explain to me why I was interrupted from my second year lecture?" Severus said sitting in the chair besides his bed and casting a muffliato behind him.

"He started it I swear," Harry complained. "He's being a total prat about this whole tournament thing!"

"I do not care who started it, however from what I have heard you threw the first punch. I do not condone fighting of any kind and you know that Harry," he steepled his fingers sighing disappointedly. "You will be serving detention every night for the next week-"

"You know, no one else has a parent as a professor to assign detentions!" Harry interrupted, "besides, Professor McGonagall already assigned detention and took points from both of us."

"As she should have, but this will be in addition to her detentions and I guarantee you even though Mrs. Weasley is not a professor here, Ron will get his punishment," Severus explained. "You will also not be permitted to go to the next Hogsmeade weekend."

"What?!" Harry yelled. "That's not fair, what did you expect me to do?"

"I expected you to walk away from the situation and let a professor handle it," he knew it was always hard for Harry to trust adults to look out for his best interest. While he had been getting better with it each year, Severus knew it was likely something his son would always struggle with.

"I'm sorry Severus," Harry said looking over at the man.

"Apology accepted, but your punishments still stand. Hopefully after all of this, you will learn your lesson. Try not to let him get to you, Ron will come around at some point; give him time," he picked up the tin of bruise salve and gently started applying it to Harry's black eye. "I should let this heal the muggle way since that's how you decided to get it in the first place."