Blood by The Lord of Chaos

Harry was swaying. It felt nice. He was swaying and it was fun, but he couldn’t sleep, and sleep was the best. Back and forth, back and forth he swayed.

Harry opened his eyes. It was difficult. He was moving somewhere but he didn’t know where. Did it matter? It took him a while to realize that he was pretty uncomfortable. He thought that perhaps he had always been uncomfortable but that he hadn’t noticed. It did seem that he was in an uncomfortable position. Perhaps he had always been uncomfortable, but that was alright. It didn’t really matter. He would be able to sleep better if he wasn’t upside down though. He watched his arms sway back and forth with the rest of him as the corridors passed him by. Everything had an odd glimmer to it.

Gradually though, Harry started to wonder why. Why wasn’t he in bed? That would be such a good place for him. Why was he swaying? He rather thought that he was being carried. It was an odd feeling. He couldn’t remember ever being carried. Where was he going? He wanted to sleep, but he couldn’t, and something wasn’t right. Harry recognized the glimmer that overcast everything, it was what the world looked like from inside his invisibility cloak. Why was he wearing his cloak? Why was he still in his robes? How could he sleep in his robes and his shoes?

Harry thought about falling asleep on the floor; he remembered the butterbeer. He passed a window and saw the full moon halfway risen past the mountains in the distance. Clarity crashed into him like a bludger. He was being kidnapped. Adrenaline overrode the desire to sleep as panic set in. He was being kidnapped, thrown over Greyback’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes and soon he would be with a werewolf under the light of a full moon.

Harry opened his mouth to yell but no sound wanted to come out. Harry bucked and twisted and suddenly he was falling. He landed roughly on the floor. He tried to get up but he was bundled up in his dad's cloak.

“No,” Harry heard a panicked voice above him say. “Damn.”

Harry looked up and saw a wand being drawn with a shaky hand. Everything Harry had learned from Benjamin seemed beyond him in that moment. There was just one thing that came to mind. Harry managed to stand a bit, stumbling forward and pulling the cloak away from himself. Harry thought about falling through the floor, and the patches on the toes of his shoes opened up the floor underneath him.

Harry fell gracelessly, his arms coming up just barely in time to protect his head, though his nose still broke as he slammed into the floor below. He heard something snap and something pop as he landed on a granite staircase. The pain was both excruciating and far away. He thought he might have fallen more than one floor. Looking up he saw that he was in the high vaulted entryway of the castle. One arm didn’t want to move, and the other wasn’t working right but he managed to get up, wincing as certain ribs seemed to pierce him where they had landed on the corner of a step. Harry heard the clamoring of feet and looked to the stairs from the floor above. He tried to run, but that was beyond him at the moment, he barely managed to get down the rest of the stairs without collapsing. He was right over the dungeons.

Harry went through the floor again and managed to land on his feet this time, but he still crumpled to the floor, his right knee giving out. He managed to get up again and lurched forward using his only functional arm for support on the wall. His wand arm hung limp against his side, and he left his wand in his pocket where it had remained during the altercation. Harry paused and threw the invisibility cloak over his head, just in case, before he started moving again. With one arm useless, and the other keeping him upright, Harry let the blood flow freely from his nose. He kept moving even as panic receded and pain flared all over. As the rush of adrenaline wore off, the desire to sleep returned, and even through the sharp stabs of pain that came with movement, Harry had to focus to keep himself alert.

Harry reached his father’s quarters and started pounding on the door, each beat causing jolt’s of pain in his forearm. It felt like forever before the door was opened. There was a wand in his face and Harry fell backwards onto his bottom with a yelp, jolts of pain shooting up the arm that reached back to catch himself and his torso on his right side felt like he was being stabbed. He awkwardly pulled the invisibility cloak off from over his head.

Professor Snape looked horrified. “Are you alright? Of course you’re not, get in.”

Harry struggled to get up and soon found himself being floated through the air and was promptly deposited on Professor Snape’s couch. Harry scrambled down to sit on the floor, he was a right mess. Harry started pinching his nose to stop the blood that was still flowing from his nose. It was no wonder it hadn’t stopped with his heart still racing as it was, pounding in his ears.

“Greyback?” Professor Snape asked.

“No,” Harry said in a nasally voice. “I don’t know who. I woke up being carried through the halls.”

“Expecto Patronum,” Professor Snape said to Harry’s utter confusion. Nothing happened. Professor Snape took a deep breath and his concerned face blanked before he tried again.

“Expecto Patronum,” Professor Snape said confidently. A silvery doe burst forth and lit up the room. “There was an attempt to abduct Harry, he is safe with me.”

The patronus seemed to shift and then it wasn’t there. Professor Snape started casting and Harry saw the front door disappear to be replaced with nothing but stone wall. The same thing happened to the fireplace. When the professor was done another silvery patronus appeared in the professor’s living room, this time it was a phoenix.

“The castle and the grounds are being swept, stay where you are for now,” the headmaster’s voice said, coming from the patronus, to Harry’s surprise.

Professor Snape turned towards Harry. “Where are you hurt?” he asked.

Everywhere, Harry thought. He had a nasty headache, his chest hurt all over and on his lower left side particularly, and in spite of the fact that his heart was still beating furiously and everything was flaring with jolt’s of pain when he moved, he still felt incredibly sleepy.

“Left arm’s dislocated,” Harry said drowsily. “Right one’s broken ’n so’s my nose I think. Also something’s wrong with my left knee.” He thought some ribs were definitely cracked, but that could wait for everything else. Experience had taught him that those would heal on their own, but he would rather avoid that this go around.

Professor Snape tapped Harry’s right arm and it was promptly splinted against his chest. His left leg was soon similarly immobilized. The professor tapped his wand on Harry’s nose a couple of times, but the blood still flowed freely. Harry wasn’t sure at this point if he felt drowsy because he’d been drugged or because of the blood loss. The headache was getting worse. The professor left for a moment and came back with a bottle of dittany and some swabs. The swabs were dipped in the dittany and then shoved unceremoniously up Harry’s nose which hurt like hell. The bleeding stopped. The professor eyed Harry’s shoulder.

“I c’n pop it back into place,” Harry said. “I’ve done’t before.”

“Let’s leave that for Madame Pomfrey,” Professor Snape said. Harry’s arm was soon bound to his side, and now both of his arms were for the most part immobilized.

“That feels better,” Harry said, though now he was noticing just how nauseous he was feeling.

“Why are you so drowsy?” Professor Snape asked. “You shouldn’t even be able to think of sleep at a time like this.”

“Oh yeah,” Harry said. “I was drugged.”

“You were drugged, and you didn’t say anything?” Professor Snape’s voice thundered in his throbbing head.

“Everything hurt really bad and it was wearing off already,” Harry said petulantly. His arms wanted to curl over his stomach which was really roiling but they were stuck in place where they were. “That’s why I woke up during my kidnapping.”

“How was it administered?” Professor Snape asked.

“Butterbeer,” Harry said, sleepily, though now he realized he was breathing heavily again, the nausea was intensifying. Now that everything was wrapped up and he was safe, he really thought he should be able to calm his heart rate, but it only seemed to be beating faster, his brain throbbed with each beat, right behind his forehead. “It was really good too. Now I really don’t feel good though.”

“What’s wrong exactly,” Professor Snape demanded.

Harry thought. “Everything,” was all he could manage before he started vomiting. He had enough time to be horrified that there was blood in it and that it was now all over the professor’s floor before he passed out.

IIIIIIIIIIIII

Harry woke up in the hospital wing. It took him a moment to take stock and remember the night before. He was sore all over, but he felt loads better than he had earlier. He hoped that this would be the last time he would be waking up in the infirmary, but he had trouble taking that thought seriously.

“Ah,” Madame Pomfrey said from across the room as Harry started to move around. She sounded cross. “So you’re awake are you?”

“Yeah,” Harry said, somewhat confused. She normally wasn’t happy when students got hurt but she normally wasn’t angry with them for it.

“Hemophilia?” Madame Pomfrey said, stalking towards Harry whose eyes widened. “You decided not to tell me you have hemophilia? While the school’s surrounded by dementors and you’re being stalked by a mad man, you thought to keep that to yourself?”

“I had a potion,” Harry said defensively, wondering how on earth she had found out. He’d just been kidnapped and bloodied all over, didn’t he get a break? “I had it under control.”

“You very nearly died last night,” Madame Pomfrey said.

“But I had the potion,” Harry said again. Had he really almost died again the night before? Getting kidnapped was bad enough.

“And did Professor Snape give you any instructions when you got that potion?” Madame Pomfrey asked, still pressing the issue.

“Um,” Harry said, trying to think back. He really didn’t want to deal with this right then. “Don’t take anything with taproot or doxy wings while I’m on it.”

“Exactly,” Madame Pomfrey said.

“It’s not like I tried to get poisoned,” Harry pointed out. He’d just wanted to have some butterbeer, and then some creep had hauled his butt out of his dorm room so he could be a werewolf’s midnight snack.

“That is entirely beside the point,” Madame Pomfrey said.

Harry still wasn’t sure what the point was as she started poking and prodding him with her wand. He suffered it in silence until she was done.

“Are the guys in my dorm okay?” Harry asked. “They were drugged too.”

“They were fine,” Madame Pomfrey said. “They slept it off; they don't have hemophilia.”

That was good. It hadn’t even occurred to Harry to feel worried for them last night, and he felt rotten for it. Anything at all could have happened when that man had gone into their dorm to take him. At least it hadn’t been Greyback.

“What did you even do?” Madame Pomfrey asked. “None of your injuries made sense.”

“I sort of went the quick way down a couple of flights of stairs,” Harry said, not thinking that she would appreciate the part where his brilliant escape plan had been to fall through the floor over who knew what.

“Well you were very lucky,” Madame Pomfrey said. “One of these days that fool neck of yours is going to snap if you’re not careful.”

“I didn’t have time to be careful,” Harry said. “I was too busy making sure I didn’t get eaten by a werewolf.”

“Were you too busy to tell me you have hemophilia?” Madame Pomfrey asked. “Apparently you’ve known since the summer, never mind the ridiculous amount of time you’ve spent in here this year. I don’t know what your mother was thinking, but your father should have known to take the illness more seriously.”

Harry had to wonder then just how much Professor Snape had told her. He decided that it would be safest to just say, “I thought I had it under control.”

“Well when it comes to healing, perhaps you can defer to my judgement on the matter,” Madame Pomfrey said.

Harry was pretty sure that literally nothing would have changed the night before if Madame Pomfrey had been in the know, but since the matron controlled when he would see anything but the four walls of the hospital wing again, Harry said. “Sure.”

“Are you hungry?” Madame Pomfrey asked.

Harry wasn’t sure if this was a test question or not, but the answer was yes either way. He was still tired and sore all over, but was acutely aware that he was starving, even though food didn’t really appeal to him at the moment. Harry supposed that he had to replace whatever he had lost the night before, whether he wanted to eat or not.

Madame Pomfrey brought him a tray of lunch and Harry thought that she agreed with his assessment because there was a lot of protein on the tray. She admonished him to drink the potion that came with it before he ate anything and then left to her office to do whatever it was she did when no one needed her attention. She hadn’t told him when he would be getting out of the infirmary, and that wasn’t a good sign.

Left alone, Harry’s thoughts gravitated to the events of the night before. The befuddled feeling of having been drugged, the panic, the fall. He remembered a sense of surety, that getting to Professor Snape had meant safety. He thought about showing up on the man’s doorstep. He’d been a terrible mess the night before. Professor Snape was always taking care of him, always cleaning up Harry’s messes. Harry was dismayed that he was once again burdening the man with his problems. The man hadn’t signed up for this. What was he going to do when he realized that Harry was just one big complicated mess?

Harry chewed on those thoughts for a while as he ate. He chased them away after a time. He would just have to try harder to be the sort of person Professor Snape would want in his life. It would be easier though if he had an inkling of what that was.

Harry checked his watch. Classes should have just been let out for lunch. He didn’t have long to wait before Ron and Hermione came in.

“Hey,” Harry said around a piece of roast beef.

“Merlin,” Ron said. “They should just give you your own bed in here.”

“Yeah,” Harry said awkwardly. “I guess I could at least leave a few books down here. It can get rather boring.”

“Well I brought you some homework,” Hermione said. “And some class notes. Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “You know Madame Pomfrey. I’m good as new. Who knows when I’ll get out of here though.”

“Would you tell us if you weren’t alright though?” Hermione asked.

“Oh come off it,” Ron said. “You know the old matron would be hovering if he weren’t.”

“So what happened with you?” Harry asked.

“McGonagall woke the tower all up at like, two o’ clock last night,” Ron said. “Except the rest of the guys and me couldn’t keep our eyes open. They checked us over and let us go back to bed after we told them about the butterbeer. Slept through the alarm this morning too. The twins are never going to let me live this down.”

“Yeah, well we all screwed up together on this one,” Harry said.

“Yeah but you’re the only one who’s stuck in here,” Ron said. “So what happened to you?”

“Woke up being carried over someone’s shoulder,” Harry said. “I got him to drop me and then I used the twins’ invention to go through the floor a couple of times. That’s why I’m here for the most part; rough landing. Also, because whatever was in that potion interfered with the potion Professor Snape gave me for my blood.”

“That’s rough mate,” Ron said.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “I’m glad you’re okay though. You shouldn’t have gotten drugged ‘cause of me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ron said. “So, was it Greyback?”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t know who it was, but they definitely didn’t act like Greyback.”

“How did they even get into the tower?” Hermione asked.

“That’s a good question,” Ron said. “Maybe they disillusioned themselves and listened by the portrait for the password.”

“I think you dozed off when Professor McGonnagall was talking to the Fat Lady,” Hermione said. “She said no one had entered since curfew, and she only saw one person leave before Professor McGonagall came to wake everyone up. She said she thought it could have been an older student, but they had been wearing the cowl up on their cloak.”

“That’s right,” Harry said. “I woke up wrapped up in my invisibility cloak. Whoever it was didn’t want to be seen carrying me through the hall.”

“You don’t think it was an older student do you?” Ron asked. “Like what if Greyback’s got someone on the inside?”

“Why would an upper year Gryffindor work for Greyback?” Hermione asked.

“Who knows,” Ron said. “Maybe it’s a Slytherin, it’s not like it’s impossible to get into another house’s dorms. Oh, what about that curse, the Imperius Curse. Maybe he bewitched someone.”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “But I don’t think it was a student.”

“Are you sure?” Ron asked. “Did you get a good look at them?”

Harry shook his head. “Not really, I just got the impression of an older man. His voice was weird. He looked beat up too, like bruises and scratches.”

A throat was cleared from the entrance of the infirmary. The three of them turned their heads and Harry saw that it was Professor Snape looking at the three of them from the doorway.

“We should really get some lunch,” Hermione said, nudging Ron.

“Oh, yeah,” Ron said. “Get out of here soon, mate.”

“I’m glad you’re alright,” Hermione said.

“Thanks,” Harry said.

Both Ron and Hermione made a quick exit, leaving Harry alone with Professor Snape.

“Hey,” Harry said. “Um, sorry about last night. I’d sort of wound up in the dungeons and then I didn’t know where else to go and… sorry about the mess, I can clean it up, really, as soon as Madame Pomfrey lets me out of here. I can… I can clean that up… um… sorry.”

“What?” Professor Snape asked, the word drawn out.

“Um,” Harry said. “The mess, I sort of recall throwing up and bleeding all over your sitting room last night. I’m really sorry.”

“I really don’t understand you sometimes,” Professor Snape said.

“Sorry?” Harry said.

“All the time really,” Professor Snape said with a sigh. “You do realize that I am a fully qualified and capable wizard. My sitting room is not currently in need of cleaning.”

“Right,” Harry said. “So thanks then, for saving my life again.”

“I nearly killed you last night,” Professor Snape said. “I was more worried about your physical injuries than your other symptoms, and it took far too long to get you to the infirmary after I had sealed my quarters. The headmaster had to summon his phoenix to get you here, and I didn’t realize that you had been given something that negated the Sang Olaes potion until you had lost a good deal of blood.”

“None of that was your fault,” Harry said.

Professor Snape shook his head.

“What happened last night?” Professor Snape asked.

“Um,” Harry said. “Got drugged, passed out, woke up being carried through the castle, fell a couple of landings to get away, took a short cut to the dungeons and passed out again in your sitting room.”

“You deliberately fell a couple of landings?” Professor Snape asked.

“Well I thought it would only be one,” Harry said. “I didn’t really know where I was in the castle at the time; I was pretty out of it. I just figured that it would be the best way to put a lot of distance between us.”

“Let’s not do that again,” Professor Snape said.

“Sure,” Harry said. “So what made me so sick like that? Was it just a bad interaction with the potions?”

“That did not help,” Professor Snape said. “But you broke a rib that punctured your stomach and you had sub-cranial bleed as well as a myriad of other issues, but those two were competing to see which one would kill you first.”

“Oh,” Harry said. “So do you know what I was poisoned with?”

“A rather simple sleeping solution and a Befuddlement Brew,” Professor Snape said. “The sleeping solution was not strong enough to keep you asleep while being kidnapped so the Befuddlement Brew was used to cause you to disregard things that would have otherwise woken you up. The bot fly larvae in the Sang Olaes potion reacted with the taproot in the Befuddlement Brew eventually negating both potions.”

“Would those potions be easy to make?” Harry asked. Thinking of someone who was self professed to be lousy with potions.

“Relatively speaking, yes,” Professor Snape said. “In fact all of the ingredients could have been found in the Forbidden Forest. There are numerous potions that would have worked far better, but perhaps the person responsible had limited means.”

“We were wondering if it was someone from the castle,” Harry said.

“Did you recognize them at all?” Professor Snape asked.

“No,” Harry said, shaking his head. “I really didn’t get a good look, but no, I’m pretty sure I would have recognized certain people, also I didn’t recognize the voice at all.”

“Appearances and voices can be changed with magic,” Professor Snape said.

Harry shrugged. “I thought of that too,” he said. “But the thing that let me know that it wasn’t Greyback was the weird mannerisms. Fumbling with their wand, stunted speech. I don’t know. It was an adult, I’m pretty sure, but it didn’t seem like any adult in the castle. They had all sorts of little injuries I think. Like bruises. It’s all fuzzy in my mind.”

Though Harry had to wonder just who would have known about his invisibility cloak. That was a short list of people. Did Professor Lupin know about the cloak that Harry had inherited from his dad?

“It should have been impossible for anyone, who did not belong, to enter the castle with malice in their mind,” Professor Snape said. “Even if they somehow accessed the grounds.”

Harry shrugged.

“How are you?” Professor Snape asked.

“I’m alright,” Harry said. “Really, I’ll probably get out of here soon if I can get back on Madame Pomfrey’s good side. Um… What did you tell her last night, by the way?” He tried to be nonchalant about the question, but his downcast eyes probably gave him away.

“After I realized why you were bleeding so much internally, I told her that you had hemophilia and that you had been poisoned with a potion that had negated the Sang Olaes potion you were on,” Professor Snape said. “I mentioned the letter you had received and allowed her to draw her own conclusions from that. What they are, I could not say. However, I did think that while we are getting to know one another that there was no need to involve others.”

“Right,” Harry said. “So…”

“Professor Snape,” Madame Pomfrey said from the doorway to her office. “Here to check on my stores again?”

“Just ensuring our patient had no other adverse reactions to the potions he imbibed last night,” Professor Snape said.

“My patient is doing well,” Madame Pomfrey said. “And you should remember in the future that while you are our potions master, I am the healer. The next time a student has a serious medical condition I do not care if you have just the potion to fix it, I need to be aware of it.”

“Of course. I will make sure of it,” Professor Snape said. “Well, Mr. Potter seems to be in order.”

Without any further preamble, Professor Snape left the hospital wing.

“Were you finished with that dear?” Madame Pomfrey asked. “You haven’t finished half of it.”

“No, I’m still hungry,” Harry said. She wouldn’t think him well if he didn’t have an appetite. Harry ate mechanically while he pondered everything that had happened over the last few days. He had been telling the truth when he had said that the man who had tried to kidnap him had borne no resemblance to anyone Harry had ever encountered in the castle, but the matter at hand was that Professor Lupin was still the prime suspect. Perhaps because he was the only suspect. Yet Harry had never felt so conflicted about mistrusting someone before.

There was a part of Harry that seemed to be telling him that he could trust Professor Lupin. A part of himself that was normally silent. The rest of him was screaming at him to stay away from him, and Harry had usually done alright by that instinct. He had ignored it to his own peril before. Yet mistrusting Professor Lupin seemed like the thing that he was supposed to do but not the right thing to do. Mistrusting his own instincts left him feeling incredibly anxious.

Harry occupied himself for a while with schoolwork, his thoughts regularly returning to Professor Lupin and to Greyback and to the people in his past who he had been right not to trust, and those he shouldn’t have. Harry was brought out of his reverie by the ringing of the bell. Looking at the clock, Harry saw that the last class of the day would be starting soon. He turned back to his course work.

Harry looked up briefly when the door opened a moment later, but it was only a younger student coming in. He turned back to his work.

“Chocolate frog?” Harry heard from his side.

“What, oh, um, Sam,” Harry said, looking over. “Um, hello.”

“Hi,” Sam said, holding out the afore mentioned chocolate frog.

“Thanks,’ Harry said, taking it, but leaving it on the nightstand. “You haven’t been hexed again have you?”

“Uh uh,” Sam said. “I’m visiting. Cause you’re sick.”

“Oh,” Harry said, not sure what to do with that. “I’m already better, just resting. I see your brother came through on those chocolate frogs.”

“Yeah,” Sam said. “He can be nice sometimes. But anyway, I just wanted to tell you that it’s okay if you’re a werewolf now. Hufflepuff won’t be mean to you for it.”

“What?” Harry asked.

“Some people were saying that Greyback got you last night and that’s why you’re in the hospital wing,” Sam explained. “One of the prefects said that that’s not a reason to be mean to someone though.”

The five minute bell rang.

“Oh,” Sam exclaimed. “I’ve got to go. Hope you’re better soon.”

“Still not a werewolf,” Harry called after Sam.

“That’s okay too,” Sam called back on the way out the door.

Harry suddenly wasn’t eager to get out of the infirmary. Not if the school was once more going to be convinced that Harry was a werewolf. He wondered why Ron and Hermione hadn’t said anything when they had visited.

“What’s all this noise,” Madame Pomfrey asked from her office.

“The school may think I’m a werewolf again,” Harry said, trying to keep the dread out of his voice.

“It’s always something,” Madame Pomfrey sighed and returned to her office. She came back out a moment later and placed an item on Harry’s nightstand, next to the chocolate frog that Harry wasn’t eating.

“What’s that?” Harry asked.

“A bezoar,” Madame Pomfrey said. “Should you ever find yourself poisoned again.”

She left him to his homework. He didn’t get much done.

Harry recognized the Auror who came to interview him later in the afternoon. She had been one of the Auror’s who had talked to him after Greyback had tried to grab him in the alley. He couldn’t remember her name and she didn’t reintroduce herself. He didn’t have anything to add to what he had already told Professor Snape. Once more he left out mention of the gloves.

Madame Pomfrey released him right before dinner with instructions to take it easy.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

“Would you tell me if he had been bitten though?” Draco asked Severus.

“Did you happen to notice the time when the school went on lock down last night Mr. Malfoy?” Severus asked.

“No,” Draco said.

“Well you can certainly ask around,” Severus said. “If you don’t trust me to tell you the truth. You can also figure out precisely when the moon finished rising over the mountains in the East last night. If you would like to take my word for it however I can certainly tell you that Mr. Potter escaped his would be kidnapper a full fifteen minutes before any werewolf would have turned.”

“Oh,” Draco said.

“Try not to sound too disappointed about that,” Severus said, keeping any true reproach out of his voice. “At least in public.”

“Well it would make things easier,” Draco said.

“It would make precisely nothing easier,” Severus said. “I assure you. His loss is not your gain. You are separate people who have separate roles in life. Potter turning into a werewolf would not make your success any easier. You certainly do not need those old rumors starting up again, lest people remember who started them the first run around.”

“I should probably point out the timing stuff to people spreading those rumors,” Draco said.

“That would certainly be beneficial to your efforts,” Severus said. “A leader is someone that people can rely on to clear up doubt.”

“Don’t think I don’t know that wasn’t what you were angling for though,” Draco said.

“I was wondering when you would pick up on that,” Severus said.

“Wait,” Draco said. “What else… the pendants.”

“A great show of support for another house,” Severus said. “It was very much noticed by Hufflepuff, I can assure you, you did a good job.”

“It wasn’t my idea though, was it?” Draco asked. “You were feeding it to me.”

“It was certainly your idea,” Severus said. “I merely laid out the conditions for you to have the idea. The same with a number of other matters. It was you who planned out and executed those ideas. Your leadership convinced your housemates to show support for another house during a quidditch game.”

“Well you were rather transparent this time,” Draco said.

“Having taught you to plant ideas in the minds of others, I did wish to see how transparent I could be before you caught me out,” Severus said. “You may certainly trust people should you like, but you should always ask yourself where your ideas have come from. Not that you should reject an idea just because it was planted by someone else. Not as long as you understand what their angle is.”

“So what’s yours?” Draco asked.

“Seeing a day when the name Slytherin is not synonymous with the word ‘evil,’” Severus said. “Seeing someone competent leading our people. An end to the idiocy that is our ministry.”

“But why do you care?” Draco asked. “There’s nothing in it for you.”

“Slytherin is the house of the ambitious,” Severus said. “How many of your classmates would you say have ambitions?”

“Well all of them, don’t they?” Draco said.

“Let us say that there is a difference between being ambitious and having an ambition,” Severus said. “How many of your classmates aspire to do nothing more than fill the shoes of their parents, and how many dream of accomplishments that their parents never dreamed of. All of your classmates may aspire to be powerful wealthy wizards, but I know of few of them who have any sort of goals. I dreamed once of being a powerful wizard who helped to save the wizarding world. I have recently decided that I should like to fulfill that one way or another.”

“But you’re still not really getting anything out of it,” Draco said.

“I do not need money or power to get something out of accomplishment,” Severus said. “Having both already, that is a lesson you would do well to learn.”

“If you say so, professor,” Draco said.

“I do,” Severus said. “Enough of this. Dinner awaits you in the great hall.”

Draco pulled out his watch.

“It’s almost half way through you mean,” Draco said, heading for the door. “See you in class on Thursday Professor.”

“Good night,” Professor Snape said.

Severus looked at his own watch. He wished he had an excuse to drop by the hospital wing. He eyed the books on his desk that he had covered up when Draco had entered. He was getting out of his depth with the boy. There were complex human skills that were essential to the boy's development that Severus had never properly developed himself. The private library left for the Head of Slytherin house had perhaps some of the most developed materials on such subjects that one could find in the wizarding world, but the muggle world had done far more extensive research on the matter and Severus had found himself supplementing the shelves with their tomes. What would Salazar think of that?

Moments after Draco left, there was a brisk knock on his office door before the door was thrust open and in stormed McGonagall.

“Severus Snape, I demand to know what you have been doing with my student,” McGonagall said coldly, without greeting or preamble.

“Mr. Malfoy is my student,” Severus said. “Though if you want him for Gryffindor you might wish to take the matter up with his father.”

“Not Mr. Malfoy,” McGonagall said tersely. “Though perhaps I should ask after him as well. It is Mr. Potter you must answer for. What have you been doing with him?”

“Nothing that requires your concern, I can assure you,” Severus said.

“How did Mr. Potter know where your personal quarters were last night?” McGonagall asked. “Both yourself and Mr. Potter have been missing meals in the Great Hall at the same time, while the house elves tell me they have been sending dinners for two to your quarters. Do not think that I have not noticed how much time you have him spending with you outside of class.”

That brought Severus up short. This was not a conversation he had planned on having.

“The headmaster can assure you that nothing untoward is going on,” Severus said.

“Suffice it to say that I do not trust the Headmaster’s judgement where Mr. Potter is concerned,” McGonagall said. “I certainly have had my doubts where you were concerned. Though I had almost come to forget them.”

“This really is none of your concern,” Severus said coldly.

“I am his head of house, and you report to me. This is precisely my concern and I am not leaving here until I have an explanation,” McGonagall said.

“You’ve known me the vast majority of my own life,” Severus said. “Is this truly the first conclusion you have jumped to?”

“It is not for me to ask myself if you have the proclivity for such a thing,” McGonagall said. “It is for me to protect my student. You have always been cruel to him, perhaps I should wonder where such cruelty would lead you.”

The accusation brought him up short. He could not deny his cruelty.

“I have come to realize that he is not James Potter,” Severus said. “I have no ill will towards Harry.”

“Do you realize that he is not a substitution for Lily either,” McGonagall asked and Severus’s lip curled.

“How dare you?” Severus asked.

“I dare because I must,” McGonagall said. “Why have you been taking dinners with Mr. Potter in your quarters?”

“Because he is my son,” Severus said. “He is my son and I would like to get to know him better. Dinner is about the only time we have to hold a conversation.”

“I beg your pardon?” McGonagall said in disbelief before she shook her head. “No actually, I beg nothing of you. Explain yourself at once.”

“James Potter used an adoption charm, that’s why Harry looks like him,” Severus said tersely. “I’ve confirmed it all with a heredity potion.”

“Lily would never,” McGonagall said. “How dare you even suggest…”

“We were fifteen,” Severus said. “And I didn’t know. She kept it a secret. Amniostasis Temporalus; a potion that will put a pregnancy on hold indefinitely. Lily left a letter for Harry’s thirteenth birthday explaining everything.”

“Ridiculous,” McGonagall proclaimed.

“Why professor, have you ever known me to lie ridiculously?” Severus asked.

“It will not be difficult for me to determine if you are telling to truth,” McGonagall said.

“Indeed it will not be,” Severus said.

“The headmaster knows?” McGonagall asked.

“He does,” Severus said.

“Mr. Potter told you voluntarily?” McGonagall asked.

“Without any of the headmaster’s meddling,” Severus said. “Or as far as I know, anyway.”

“Who else knows about this?” McGonagall asked.

“The headmaster, Granger, Weasley and now you,” Severus said. “Suffice it to say that Harry is not entirely sure how to handle having the bat of the dungeons for a father. Neither of us have felt the need to tell the world while matters are being worked out.”

“And what are your intentions towards Mr. Potter?” McGonagall asked.

“That is up to him,” Severus said. “I should like to do well by him.”

“If you hurt him Severus Snape, I swear, the headmaster will not be able to protect you,” McGonagall said.

“Why professor, does this mean you believe me?” Severus said.

“Do not think I won’t be verifying this ridiculous tale,” McGonagall said. “One way or another, we will be having a long conversation after I do.”

She left with as little formality as she entered.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

“I have something,” Peter said the moment he knew he wasn’t alone in the clearing. There was a chance he could get out of this meeting unscathed.

“Is it my potion?” Greyback asked.

“I’m working on that,” Peter said. “And I’m close too, I swear, but this is useful too. If you can ward it against those who might look for it.”

“Another distraction,” Greyback said. “Another delay. I’ve had enough delays. You will get me what you promised me or you won’t see another full moon.”

“O-of course,” Peter said. “And I will get it for you. I will, I p-promise you. But this is useful. For when you have the polyjuice potion. It’s… it’s a map.”

“I don’t need a map,” Greyback said. “I just need Potter on the grounds and a disguise to lure him away.”

“This isn’t just any map,” Peter said. “It shows people. In the castle. On the grounds. Everyone. It shows where everyone is. Everyone in Hogwarts.”

“The forest?” Greyback asked.

“No,” Peter said. “Not the forest, it doesn’t reach that far. And not the bed chambers either, those are protected from scrying or I would have been discovered years ago. But the grounds. Yes, you could see where Potter is and if anyone is around or if anyone is coming. You can see everything. Everyone.”

“Give it to me,” Greyback said.

Peter handed it over.

“If you can’t ward it, then it is worse than useless to you,” Peter said. “The ones I took it from would be able to scry for it; they have a connection to it now.”

“I can ward it,” Greyback said. “It would have been easier if you had just killed them though.”

“It is one of them who you will be impersonating,” Peter said. “When I get you the potion.”

Greyback shook his head dismissively. “Start talking.”

“I’ve, um, I’ve told you everything I can think of,” Peter said hurriedly. “Everything important. He’s just a boy. There isn’t much to him.”

“You haven’t told me everything,” Greyback said. “You’ve only scratched the surface. The first rule of the hunt is to know your prey. So tell me more about Potter.”

“Yes, well, um…” Peter started. It was going to be a long night; and a painful one if he couldn’t think of anything to say.

IIIIIIIIIIIII

The suspicious looks were back. The whispers. No one had messed with him yet, but Harry was keeping a wary eye out. He touched the bezoar in his pocket.

Sam had been right though. Hufflepuff did seem to be standing behind him. Firmly in the ‘let’s not treat Harry bad because he’s a werewolf’ camp. They were being nice and supportive, but a lot of them seemed convinced that Harry had been bitten. Some of them were nice from afar.

Gryffindor was mostly behind him as well. For the most part.

So many people might not have been convinced if Harry hadn’t spent the night in the infirmary. Everyone was sure he had been recovering from a werewolf bite.

“This’ll die down in no time,” Ron said. “Faster than the first time, you’ll see.”

“It only died down the first time because I almost died,” Harry said.

“This is stupid,” Hermione said. “Didn’t anyone do the math?”

“Some people did,” Harry said.

“There’s a rumor going around that a werewolf can change when the moon’s still behind mountains,” Ron said.

“That’s directly contradicted by Elyas Aybara’s treatise on werewolves,” Hermione said. “All this werewolf hype and you’d think someone would have checked out a book or two from the library.”

“What’s a book next to a rumor?” Harry asked.

“They’ll figure it out eventually,” Hermione said.

“Just have to hope I don’t get poisoned first,” Harry said.

“Yes, well, we’ll just have to be extra careful,” Hermione said.

“So where did McGonagall get that heredity potion?” Harry asked changing the subject. Harry had told them about the early morning meeting he had had with their Head of House right before he had been released from the hospital wing.

“That’s right,” Hermione said. “It took us a long time to brew that. If she only just found out, how did she get it so quickly.”

“She probably visited the apothecary last night,” Ron said. “In Hogsmeade. They’d have all sorts of readymade potions.”

“How often do people need heredity tests that they keep the stuff in stock?” Harry asked. “The book said it didn’t keep very long.”

“Oh, purebloods probably use it tons before marriages,” Ron said. “You know, some purebloods. Gotta make sure all the other person’s ancestors are accounted for before you mix.”

“Did your parents?” Hermione asked.

“My parents eloped,” Ron said. “Right after Hogwarts. Great Aunt Mildred tells the story all the time. She thinks it was the most romantic thing since Tristan and Isolde. Great Granddad Prewett thought it was ‘cause dad was hiding some muggle heritage though. Gave dad trouble for the longest time for marrying mum. Glad I never had to go to those family reunions. The ones we have now are nightmare enough.”

“So are you okay with Professor McGonagall knowing,” Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged. “She didn’t act weird about it,” he said, though for some reason Harry had felt almost as though he had betrayed the head of Gryffindor. “She just said she would make appropriate changes to my school records and that I could talk to her if I needed to.”

“You know what that means, don’t you?” Ron asked.

“What’s that?” Harry asked.

“Means she’s listing him as your parent on your record,” Ron said. “Now she tells him whenever you get in trouble.”

“You don’t think she would, do you?” Harry asked, worried. “I mean they don’t tell your parents everything, do they?”

“Mum get’s letters about us all the time,” Ron said. “Mostly about the twins, mind, but you better believe she heard about the troll in first year. The letter she sent after that was weird, I couldn’t tell if she was angry with me or proud.”

“My parents never get anything,” Hermione said.

“What about when you were petrified?” Harry asked.

“They don’t even know about that,” Hermione said. “And make sure you remember that if you ever meet them again please.”

“Why do they tell my parent’s everything and not yours?” Ron asked.

“Well I think I know why,” Hermione said.

“My mum bribed McGonagall with biscuits to keep her in the loop?” Ron suggested.

“My parents are muggles,” Hermione said.

“Do you think that’s it?” Harry asked.

“Do they write to the Dursleys?” Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head. “I’m going to keep that in the ‘that’s a good thing’ category,” he said.

“But it’s not good,” Hermione said. Harry gave her a skeptical look.

“Do you wish they’d told your parents about the Chamber of Secrets, or Quirrel and you-know-who, and dementors and escaped convicts?” Ron asked. “I’m going to get a letter from mum worrying about me getting drugged, but she’d never once in a million years think about pulling me out of school. What’d your parents do if they found out about half of that? That’s why you didn’t tell them, isn’t it?”

“Well I’m glad they don’t know, but it’s terrible that they aren’t considered worth keeping in the loop by the wizarding world,” Hermione said. “Over the summer, who do your grades get delivered to, you or your parents? Who got the Hogsmeade permission slip?”

“Mum and dad did,” Ron said.

“All that stuff got sent to me,” Hermione said. “Honestly, I don’t know what would happen if they did try to pull me from Hogwarts.”

Harry didn’t know what to think about that. Some guardians couldn’t be trusted to have their kid’s best interest in mind. The Dursley’s wouldn’t have let Harry come to Hogwarts if they’d had their way. They wouldn’t have let him go to school period if it hadn’t been state mandated. Harry’s whole childhood could have been chores and the cupboard if someone hadn’t said that the Dursleys weren’t the sole deciders of Harry’s fate. Harry was managing his own education just fine… with Hermione’s help. Some of the only grace Harry had ever known before Hogwarts had come because the Dursleys were worried about the watchful eyes of others. Though, Harry had never been able to trust in those eyes either.

“Is Professor Lupin okay?” Harry asked as they entered the Great Hall. The defense professor looked ill sitting up at the head table.

“He missed his first class yesterday,” Hermione said. “I heard Professor Snape covered for him again.”

Harry wondered if something had kept the man up late the night prior. He had another lesson with the man that night.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

Herbology that day with the Hufflepuffs was frustrating to say the least. Hannah Abbott had nearly shrieked in fright when Harry had asked her to pass the pruning shears and then had proceeded to pass them to him with effusive friendliness.

Luckily a lot of the hostility from the first go around was still lacking and Harry managed to get through the day without being harassed or tripped up in the halls. Disturbingly though, two students that Harry didn’t even know got into a fist fight over the topic of Harry’s supposed lycanthropy. Tomorrow, of course, was another day, but hopefully Harry wouldn’t come across anyone who was violently opposed to him still being in the school. Tonight was his second lesson with Professor Lupin.

Harry still didn’t know where he stood with the man. On the one hand, he was the best teacher Harry had ever had, and on the other, Harry was fifty-fifty on whether the man wanted to kidnap him for Greyback. Harry brought a bunch of chocolate to the classroom.

“Harry,” Professor Lupin greeted. “How are you holding up?”

“Oh, Madame Pomfrey healed everything just fine,” Harry said, entering the classroom and once more leaving the door wide open. He looked at the professor, searching for any of the mannerisms or marks he had seen on the man who had abducted him.

“I meant rather the atmosphere in the school,” Professor Lupin said.

“I’ve dealt with it before,” Harry said. “It’s better this time at least.”

There were no similarities between Professor Lupin and the man from the full moon as far as Harry could tell. Though Professor Lupin looked a little exhausted and haggard, he was nothing like the mysterious man who had chased after him in the halls two nights prior.

“Well there is that,” Professor Lupin said. “Have you had opportunity to practice the Patronus Charm?”

Harry nodded. “I’m ready whenever you are, professor.”

“Right to it then,” Professor Lupin said. He approached the wardrobe in the corner where the boggart awaited. Harry looked at the clock.

The temperature of the room plummeted Harry felt all of the warmth leave his body as a dementor glided towards him.

“Expecto Patronum,” Harry called out. He thought there might have been something that happened but he was shaking so much he lost whatever was there. He was so cold. Warmth was only a memory, a memory to remind him of what he would never have again. He hugged himself as a woman’s scream filled his head. He had to get to her, but he was powerless, he was trapped. He heard a man’s voice and he was afraid. If only she could come to him, Harry just needed her to be there with him, he knew, and everything would be alright, but she wasn’t coming. She never would. There was cruel laughter, a laugh that ached in his bones and then a flash of warmth covered him, and Harry knew that everything was alright.

Shift

Harry had been blown back by a massive force before the world had fallen around him and as the rocks and the dust settled Harry’s mind reeled in horror. His arms were still covering his head and Harry just wanted to settle down on the icy cold ground and never let go. Harry had just narrowly avoided being obliviated and in that moment he could almost wish that it had been successful. Everything was wrong. Everything was in ruin. It was all Harry’s fault, he had known not to trust, he had known not to let his guard down, he had known that there was something wrong with Lockheart but that hadn’t stopped him and now he fully knew the measure of his folly. He was such a freak, and he had failed, and there was nothing he could do about it. Ginny was going to die because of him. He couldn’t get it out of his head and he longed for oblivion.

Harry looked around in the settling dust with his wand that was somehow still lit. There was no sign of anyone. Everything was rock. Everything was lost. He had put his trust in Lockheart and now Ron was crushed to death deep under the bedrock of the castle, Ginny was going to be killed by a Basilisk, and Harry was going to die cold and alone. He was stranded in the icy cavern with nothing but the memories of his failures. Freezing to death was the only thing he had to look forward to.

The memory shifted and Harry gasped as a reassuring knowledge blanketed him in relief. Ron had been alright, Harry knew, and Ginny had come out unharmed. Harry wasn’t alone, he knew it deep down, if only for a moment.

Harry woke up to Professor Lupin tapping his shoulder. Harry just stared up at him for a moment before he got up and wordlessly sat down next to his book bag to pull out a chocolate bar. He took a moment to look at the clock before he started gnawing on some of Honeyduke’s finest. He tried to shake off the second memory, he was well practiced at doing that. He knew what that memory had been. He remembered it clearly, he remembered everything very clearly, though the dementor’s effects always tweaked the memories in the replay, the memories twisted and distorted further as he lived them again. It was the first memory though that had him pondering.

The woman was first, she was always first, and she wasn’t like the other memories. Her screams weren’t clear; the memory indistinct. All of the other memories he relived were strong memories for the most part, and he actually knew what they were about after the dementor was gone. He had no context for the woman. He had no memories like it. He pondered the origins of the memory as he chewed on some chocolate and tried to hold onto the feeling of peace that still lingered after his fight with the dementor. He thought he already knew the origin of the memory. He thought he had always known, since his first encounter with the dementors. But Harry had always been good at not thinking about certain things. Now as he prepared himself to face the dementor once more, Harry decided he needed to know. He wasn’t going to focus on the spell this time, he was going to focus on the memory. He wanted to remember it as fully as he could. It was the only memory he had.

Harry kept an eye on Professor Lupin as he recovered, he glanced at the clock. Harry was pretty sure that if the man was plotting against him, that hauling him off through the castle in the middle of the evening wasn’t part of the plan. Lest he would have done so during the lesson on Sunday during one of the many times Harry had been unconscious. But Harry was going to keep an eye on him regardless.

Harry stood up ready to face the dementor once more. He was already shivering in anticipation of the cold.

“Your wandwork was very good,” Professor Lupin said. “Though try to be clearer on the ess in the ex.”

Harry nodded, knowing that he would be focusing on something else this time.

Professor Lupin opened the doors of the wardrobe once more and Harry performed the incantation by rote, but he wasn’t focusing on any happy memories, he focused on what the dementor showed him.

“Not Harry, not Harry, please, I’ll do anything,” the woman pleaded.

“Stand aside, stand aside girl,” a high pitched and cruelly amused voice said.

“Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead,” the woman said.

“So be it,” Harry heard.

There were more words, more yelling, but Harry didn’t take any of it in before there was a flash of green light and the cold passed as Harry felt the warmth and peace penetrating the effects of the dementor.

Shift.

Harry was in the forest at night. He was so cold and he and Ron were going to die in the clutches of the giant spiders that Harry had led them to. Ron was going to be killed by his greatest fear and it was all Harry’s fault. They were going to die, cold and alone. Everything lurched and suddenly Harry knew that Ron was safe, that they had made it to their warm beds unharmed.

Shift.

His feet lifted off the ground and his body was slammed against the wall. An arm across his chest pinned him in place and he couldn’t breathe in all the way. He didn’t need the threats, he didn’t need the blow to his cheek. It had been drilled into him long ago. He knew what would happen if he ever told on the Dursleys. No one would care, no one would help, they would know what he was, a freak, there would be only pain. This was a new threat though, a new promise and Harry knew it to be the truth. He cemented the threat into his head as he told his uncle that of course he wouldn’t tell, he would never tell. Who would believe what he had seen, who would listen to what he had heard, who would care what had happened. His uncle’s menacing face lurched out of view then and the pressure on his chest let off and he knew that someone cared. Someone had always cared. He felt safe and as he opened his eyes to the ceiling of Professor Lupin’s office, one word passed his lips that his mind latched onto.

“Mum,” Harry said sadly, longingly. In that moment Harry knew that the woman he heard was his mother. Every time he had heard that voice, he had wanted to protect her he had wanted to save her. But he couldn’t, because she had died saving him. He was remembering his mother plead for his life. He remembered the sound of her voice, and the green flash and the feeling of safety. The feeling of safety and comfort that had always accompanied the memory like it was a part of it, the last part of the memory that he could remember. All of the other memories were different, the feeling came afterwards, it was tacked on to the end and Harry knew what that feeling was. He knew what was protecting him from the dementors, he knew what had comforted him when he had been alone in his cupboard and when he had felt like he couldn’t stand the world any longer. It was his mum, it was her protection on him that he felt.

“Harry,” Professor Lupin prompted. “Are you alright?”

Harry looked up at the professor who was standing worriedly over him. He looked at the clock.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “I’m just… I think that’s it for today.”

“This is a very difficult charm Harry,” Professor Lupin said. “And we are making sure you don’t have to face the dementors again. Perhaps…”

“I can do it,” Harry said quickly and then blushed. “I’m sorry. But I need to do this. I’m alright, I just… I just remembered something.”

“Well sit down and eat some chocolate before you go,” Professor Lupin said gently.

Harry took a seat and gnawed on some Honeydukes absentmindedly.

“She loved you very much,” Professor Lupin said, and Harry knew that the man had heard what he had said upon waking up.

“I know,” Harry said, smiling sadly. He didn’t have to rely on the words of others, he could feel it. He had felt it his whole life, as long as he could remember. A part of his mother had stayed with him, protecting him always. Loving him always. Harry enjoyed thinking then that she would still feel the same way if she were alive then. That she would have loved him no matter what. He thought that maybe she would have. She was the best person Harry had never known. He wished that that feeling was something he could hold onto.

“Your father did too,” Professor Lupin went on. “They’d both be very proud of you today.”

A lot of people may have loved him as a baby, but Harry only had a remnant of that today. He would have to hold on to it however he could. Maybe a month at the Dursleys was worth it.

“Thanks for the lesson professor,” Harry said getting up. “I’ll see you tomorrow in class.”

“Get some rest, Harry,” Professor Lupin said as Harry made his way to the door.

“Night,” Harry said.

IIIIIIIIIIII

“You look flushed,” Severus told Harry as the boy entered his quarters. “I am sure Madam Pomfrey instructed you to take things easy for a couple of days.”

“Oh I’m fine,” Harry said, taking a long look around the room and taking particular interest in the area where he had lain three nights prior. “It was just quidditch practice. It went fine.”

“I do believe that you and our school nurse have different opinions on the definition of taking things easy,” Severus said.

“I really do feel alright,” Harry said.

“Well let’s eat then,” Severus said. “I understand you are supposed to eat plenty of protein after so much blood loss.”

“Sounds good to me,” Harry said. “Though you don’t need to go through any bother or anything.”

“Ordering pot roast from the kitchens is not a bother,” Severus said, turning towards the fireplace to place the order. Moments later the hot food appeared on his dining table.

“How did your quidditch practice go?” Severus asked as they sat down.

“Oh, well enough,” Harry said. “Fred and George were upset about something but they wouldn’t say what though. Oliver was upset that they didn’t have their heads in it... Wait, are you trying to get me to spill team secrets?”

“If I wanted to know Gryffindor’s secrets I would send Mr. Flint to goad Mr. Wood into bragging about his team. It has always worked in the past.”

Harry gapped at him.

“I trust you have been told not to show off the food in your mouth Mr. Potter,” Severus said. The boy shut his mouth.

“That’s not fair,” Harry said.

“I was not aware that I was the head of Hufflepuff house,” Severus said. “Or that my son was one of their students.”

Harry smiled at that as he looked intently at his plate. They ate in silence for a while, Severus, dearly wishing that he knew what was going on behind those green eyes.

“You have your defense study group tonight, is that right?” Severus asked.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “We’re practicing shields and this simple ward that’ll tell you if someone crosses it.”

“You have been doing well with your schoolwork,” Severus commented.

“I’m doing alright I guess,” Harry shrugged. “Professor Lupin wants me to take both years' final exams later.”

“And you don’t?” Severus asked.

“It would be weird not to have class with my friends,” Harry said.

“I would not be surprised if Ms. Granger could already pass the fourth-year exam,” Severus said.

“Well probably,” Harry said. “Though I don’t think she would take it if she didn’t think she’d get a perfect score, and then Ron’d be alone next year in defense.”

“I wonder how much socializing you must do during classes besides my own that this is such a concern,” Severus said.

“Oh,” Harry said. “Um well it’s just nice to be around people you trust. I probably wouldn’t even be with the Gryffindor fifth year class; it’d be whichever class worked with my schedule.”

“You’ve certainly put a lot of work into defense this year,” Severus said. “You should not waste that.”

Harry shrugged.

“Do you know why Malfoy is telling people I’m not a werewolf?” Harry asked Severus, changing the subject. “Is this some weird Slytherin reverse psychology thing?”

“Is he saying that?” Severus asked.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “He’s been telling people that the castle went on lockdown before the moon rose so I couldn’t have been bitten.”

“Why do you think he is doing so?” Severus asked.

“Slytherin shenanigans,” Harry said.

Severus raised an eyebrow.

“I thought you might have had something to do with it,” Harry said.

“Mr. Malfoy decided on this course of action himself,” Severus said. “This was not done by my instruction. You may have noticed that it has been some time since you have had an altercation with him.”

“He doesn’t actually feel bad about me getting poisoned because of those rumors, does he?” Harry asked.

“I do not think that he does, no,” Severus said. “Do you feel that you are in danger from these rumors?”

Harry shrugged. “No one’s hexed me in the halls this time. The Hufflepuff’s are scared but ‘supportive,’” Harry said. “I think most of them think I’m a werewolf. I think the majority of the Ravenclaws don’t think I’m a werewolf. A handful of them give me dirty looks. A lot of Slytherins are just ignoring me, a bunch of them are being jerks, although that may have nothing to do with the rumors. Gryffindors mostly believe me, I think. There haven’t been any threats yet.”

“There were threats last time?” Severus asked.

“Yeah, on my bed, a sprig of wolfsbane and then a note telling me to get out of dodge,” Harry said.

“And what did Professor McGonagall say when you told her of these threats?” Severus said dangerously.

“Umm,” Harry said, dithering. “I may not have mentioned them to anyone.”

“You have the absolute worst survival instinct of anyone I have ever met,” Severus said.

“I’m sorry,” Harry said.

Professor Snape sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Lily, he was sure, would be yelling right now.

“We’ll work on that,” Severus said.

“Sure,” Harry said, placating as always.

“How was your lesson with Lupin last night?” Severus asked, changing the subject.

“Oh,” Harry said. “It went alright.” He was being evasive, Severus could tell.

“Harry if there is something you suspect you must tell me,” Severus said.

“No,” Harry said. “It’s not that. I just, didn’t do very well. It ended pretty quickly.”

“It is not a third year spell,” Severus reminded him.

“It’s not that,” Harry said. “I- I realized… there’s this memory that always gets dragged up that I didn’t really remember. I figured out what it was, um… it was my mum, on that night.”

Unbidden, Severus’s own memories of that night came forward and he inhaled sharply. It was a moment before he could respond. “You shouldn’t have to hear that,” he said.

Harry shrugged. “I realized something though,” Harry said. “The protection she gave me, I can feel it. It’s like I remember what it felt like when… when it was placed on me, and I recognize it from, like, there’ve been times when I felt that, like, bad things happen and then I feel better for no reason and I feel like this, thing, it feels nice. I don’t know.”

"You think you can actually feel the protection she left on you?"

Harry shrugged. "I think so."

“There is not much we know of the magic that has protected you,” Severus said, taking comfort that something of Lily lived on. “I am glad you can draw solace from it.”

Harry shrugged, looking at his dinner. “I was thinking maybe I can use it for the patronus charm.”

“The memory of that night?” Severus asked.

“No, the feeling, it’s…” Harry looked back down with a blush. “It’s nice is all.”

There was a silence for a while as they ate.

“That might be where occlumency would be beneficial,” Severus said. “Separating the memory of that feeling from what preceded it would help you to cast the patronus.”

“You really will teach me?” Harry asked.

“I do recall saying that I would,” Severus said, noting Harry’s surprise. “I have put some thought into how to teach you. As I said, you would not benefit from the conditions I learned under. I will give you a book on the subject which you will read and then we will begin practicing.”

“I was thinking about that spell you told me about,” Harry said. “The one that controls people.”

“Occlumency is not a protection against the Imperious Curse, however, a disciplined mind would be beneficial to resisting the charm.”

Harry looked disappointed at that. “What does practice entail?” he asked.

“Occlumency is primarily the protection of your mind,” Severus said. “To develop your skills, you will block my attempts to invade your mind.”

The boys eyes widened. “You’re going to read my mind?” he asked.

“What is on the surface,” Severus said. “I will not be looking for anything. I will not be rooting around your mind; this is only the most basics of intrusion and defense.”

“Yeah, but what if something comes up cause I’m trying not to think about it, like, you know, something private?” Harry mumbled, staring intently at his plate and sounding miserable.

“Well, not trying to not think about something is the best way to not think about it,” Severus said. “It is a bit like a game. There will be something that you are trying to hide from me while trying to convince me of something different. For instance, I will ask you what the first class of your day was. You will hide that from me, while trying to convince me that it was another class entirely. If I cannot sense the deception in your mind you win, if I can divine what class it was, you lose.”

“Don’t you know the class schedules already?” Harry asked.

“The secret can be anything,” Professor Snape said. “But regardless. The point is, at this level, you will be preoccupied with the game, I will not be looking deeply, I should not see anything you do not want me to see. However, I should remind you that I too was once a thirteen-year-old boy. I dare say I would not be shocked by anything, private.”

“Oh no,” Harry said. “I was not talking about that, like at all. Just, you know, like just… never mind. Forget I said anything. Nothing private at all.”

“It is perfectly normal for a young man to…” Severus said, realizing he wasn’t sure how to have this conversation. “Well, you had that talk from Madame Pomfrey earlier in the year, probably the same I had when I was your age.”

“Really not necessary,” Harry said.

“Although I do not recall that talk being as all-encompassing as it should have been, there are some materials she doesn’t cover till you are older,” Severus said.

“There’s more?” Harry said, sounding horrified.

“Yes, there is some important information that they don’t think you need until you are older, but, case in point, you were conceived when I was fifteen,” Severus said. “Perhaps we should have a discussion.”

“Oh Merlin,” Harry said, getting up. “Um, I should go, um, it’s late, got to get to my defense study group.”

“We will be having that conversation at some point,” Severus said getting up as well.

“Please don’t,” Harry said.

“I can make it quick and painless,” Severus said.

“I promise you, it's not necessary,” Harry said.

“I might have said the same thing when I was thirteen,” Severus said.

“I’m out of here,” Harry said.

“In the meantime,” Severus said. “There is a book you should read.”

“No books,” Harry said heading for the door.

“About occlumency,” Severus said.

“Oh,” Harry said, pausing in his tracks. “Okay.”

Severus retrieved the book from his study.

“Let me know when you have finished reading this, and let me know if you have any questions,” Severus said. “About anything.”

“No questions,” Harry said taking the book. “Um, thanks, a lot, for um, everything. Yeah. Just, no talks. Please.” He turned towards the door.

“It really is important information,” Severus said.

Harry groaned as he walked out the door. Severus tried to imagine how he would have felt at thirteen.

IIIIIIIIIIIII

“Minerva,” Albus greeted pleasantly, even as he dreaded another divergence within the castle. Outside Hogwarts, everything moved along as it should, yet inside he had yet to see matters corrected. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company this evening.”

“Severus indicated that you were already aware of this matter, but I wanted to discuss with you what your intentions are for Harry this summer?” Minverva said.

“There is a plan in place for Harry’s summer arrangements,” Albus said. “I would be happy provide you with the details, but first I must ask to what matter I should already be aware.”

“Did Severus not tell you that he is Harry’s biological father?” Minerva asked. “I have verified it myself. I was not ready to believe it otherwise.”

“He did,” Albus said. “But I was not aware of any reason to make changes to Harry’s summer arrangements. I was under the impression that they were not tolerating one another well.”

“Well they were tolerant enough to dine with each other several times this previous week,” Minerva said. “And Severus has spoken of ‘doing well by’ Mr. Potter, whatever he takes that to mean. So I must ask if there is any possibility that Harry will be living with Severus this Summer and how you intend to make sure that that doesn’t end horribly.”

Just when he had thought he had a handle on matters, he was proven most grievously wrong.

“Until such a time as Severus asserts his parental rights, Harry will be returning to the Dursleys for a month after which he will have alternative arrangements dependent on various safety issues,” Albus told Minerva.

“And if Severus does assert his rights?” Minerva asked. “By Merlin, Albus, if Mr. Potter’s tuition wasn’t already paid in full for the next four and a half years we would be getting ready to send Severus the bill for next term at this point. What are you going to do if Severus decides he wants to take Harry home at the end of the school year?”

Albus had already made plans for that, drawn up schematics and formulas for the wards, he was prepared for that occurrence, but he had thought that he would not need it. He had hoped that such a divergence could be avoided. He had thought that that line of possibility had been cut short.

“Then we will provide him all the support he needs to make sure that Harry is well cared for,” Albus said.

Internally, he tried to think of another option. The truth was that matters were spiraling out of his control, but he could still make things work. He could focus on forcing the bigger events. Yet how much was reliant on the smaller events. Harry’s defeat of Greyback was an important step towards the future defeat of Voldemort, yet one misstep could completely change the outcome. Albus knew what had to happen for Voldemort’s defeat, and if he did say so himself, he was just clever enough to make it work.