‘Longbottom. Is it in any way possible for you to clear this away or are these plants one of those rare varieties that flourish when spread over a stone corridor?’

Sarcasm, although not exactly new from Snape, was still enough to make Neville panic. ‘Sorry, Professor…I…um…’

‘Fascinating an account as that was, I retain complete indifference as to why there is soil over my floor. I merely require it to be removed. If you cannot achieve this within the next ten seconds I will simply blast the seedlings away and explain to Professor Sprout that it was a fault of your supreme incompetence.’

‘Yes sir…’ Neville struggled to think of a spell that would fix the pots, lift the soil and seedlings into them, and all within ten seconds.

After five, Hermione intervened. Muttering three spells in quick succession, she lifted the pots and handed them to Neville. ‘Here.’

‘Thanks,’ he replied quietly.

‘Let’s hope, for the sake of the wizarding world, Ms Granger is always available to do your thinking for you, Mr Longbottom.’ With that, Snape stalked off.

Neville was still looking dazedly at his plants. Herbology was the only class he felt confident in, and it was just his luck to have the class that day ruined by his fall on the way there. His fellow Gryffindors stood in sympathetic silence for a moment.

‘Is it just me, or is he being even more of a git than usual?’ Ron asked.

‘It’s not just you,’ Seamus agreed and most of the others nodded. Hermione looked less certain and Harry only gazed after Snape.

‘Harry?’

He turned to look at Ron. ‘Hmmm?’

‘We have class. McGonnagall’ll kill us if we’re late again.’

‘Yeah,’ Harry answered distractedly. ‘Hermione, did he look strange to you?’

‘Tired?’

‘Maybe.’

‘He looks like he hasn’t slept. And like there’s something on his mind. But all the Professors look like that at the moment. Do you think something’s wrong?’

‘Maybe. Definitely something going on anyway.’

‘Harry! We don’t have all day, mate.’

‘Right, coming.’

***********

‘Professor?’ Harry called out as he entered Snape’s room.

‘Sit down, I’m in the middle of something.’ Harry obeyed the disembodied voice coming from the backroom.

A few minutes later Severus entered. ‘Legilimens.’ Harry repelled it quickly but the older man was unsatisfied. ‘You need to be faster than that. Legilimens.’ Again Harry blocked and again Severus glared in rebuke. ‘Mr Potter, I am not as powerful as the Dark Lord and I can feel the cracks.’

‘I stopped it!’

‘You won’t stop him with that, Potter.’ Harry looked up in confusion. Snape looked haggard, with even paler than normal skin and dark circles under his eyes.

‘If you are quite finished, Mr Potter… Legilimens!’ This time the boy put full force into repelling the spell and forced it back. He saw a quick flash of a meeting of hooded figures before Snape shut his mind quickly. ‘That’s enough! Now I need you to elaborate on what we were talking about a few weeks ago.’

‘Excuse me, sir?’

‘Our conversation. Why do you believe you’ll have to fight him alone? Have you seen anything? Or have you, Mr Potter, forgotten the consequences of your actions last year and been trying to see him?’

‘Sir, I…’

‘If you get yourself or someone else killed there will be no one to blame but yourself. Now answer the question.’

‘Professor, I’m not in detention now, am I?’

‘No you are not. Although that is totally irrelevant.’

‘The Headmaster asked you to teach me Occlumency and we’ve done that tonight. I don’t need to answer personal questions do I?’

‘This is for your own benefit. And you were perfectly willing to talk about it then.’

‘Then it was late, I was exhausted, and you weren’t abusing my friends for no reason.’

‘This is about Longbottom? Touching as your concern is, Mr Potter, I don’t have time for this. If you’re not willing to help then yes you may leave.

‘Professor…’

‘Go.’ Harry saw a flicker of something but Snape flicked a hand at him distractedly as he turned to marking.

**********

‘Harry he’s just a bastard. There’s no logic behind it.’

‘Ron…He was being so much nicer.’ Hermione was trying to be the voice of reason.

‘And now he’s gone back to normal. The drugs wore off.’

‘Maybe he’s having a potion problem,’ Ginny chimed in.

‘What?’ Ron whipped round

‘He seems like the sort of person who’d get upset about stuff like that.’

‘He is always…you know…pretty obsessive,’ Neville ventured.

‘Neville, why are you defending him?’

‘I’m not. It’s just…apart from today he was being … nice.’ Ron snorted. ‘Well not nice. But better.’

‘Harry, you’ve gone very quiet.’ Ginny looked at Harry curiously.

‘I was just thinking.’

‘About what?’

‘I just…it doesn’t make sense.’

Luna spoke up dreamily to offer her opinion, ‘If someone begins to act in a manner we consider strange, and we can see no reason for it, then we must simply assume that it is merely that we cannot see it.’

‘Another piece of philosophy from Ms Lovegood.’ Ron grinned at Luna and Harry nodded at her reflectively.

‘Shouldn’t we be practicing right now?’ Ginny asked, looking round at the rest of the DA. Harry muttered something unrepeatable, jumping up to make a round of the room.

*************

Harry tossed uncomfortably in bed that night. Remembering what could happen if he went to sleep that way, he began the exercises to clear his mind. When he had done the best he could he drifted, still uneasy, into sleep.

*

‘I’m disappointed in you, Severus.’ For once he wasn’t inside Voldemort, this time he watched from the sidelines.

‘I’ve given you ample time to find this out. I need to deal with the Potter boy now, Severus. I trusted you. You came crawling back and I accepted you back into our ranks because of your talents. Recently those talents have not been in evidence. There have been too many accidents with potions, and too little information getting back to us.’

Harry watched the snake glare focus on Snape, standing in the centre of the circle.

‘And I have been unable to tap into his mind. Why did you not inform me that the muggle-lover was teaching him Occlumency?’

‘Forgive me, my Lord, I didn’t know.’

‘You should have known. You’re slipping, Severus. Crucio!’

Snape fell to the ground without making a sound. Voldemort held the spell until he was huddled in a ball and soft moans could be heard.

‘Apparate him to the outskirts of Hogsmeade. He can walk back.’

‘My Lord,’ one of them spoke up, ‘he won’t make it back there.’

‘And what a tragedy it would be Dumbledore to come across a corpse on his lawns. Would you rather it be you fool!? If he makes it back he will have atoned for his failures. If not, one of you imbeciles can find me a new potions master. Now go.’

*

Harry woke up with a start. ‘It’s just a dream. Or he’s planting visions again.’ Disagreeing with yourself is unfortunate but at 3 a.m. there’s little other option.

‘But why would Voldemort use Snape to get me out? It makes no sense. And I know that wasn’t a dream. It was too real. It felt like a vision. Which means that Snape is out there….He’ll get back. He told me if I was killed chasing a vision I would only have myself to blame…

***********

Severus woke up and coughed weakly. Then he looked around. ‘Damn…’ The shadowy forms of trees were visible all around him. Probably the forest beside Hogsmeade, but who could be sure with that lunatic? He raised his head and nearly cried out as stabbing pains danced down his body. He felt himself lapsing into unconsciousness but heard a cry.

‘Professor?’ A shadowy figure appeared over him. Blue eyes, just visible by wandlight, peered at him in concern.

‘Who…?’

‘I’m from the village. I was walking when…’ The potions master was slipping into unconsciousness again. ‘I’m going to take you up to the school, okay?’ Blinking seemed to be a form of ascent but as Severus fell back into darkness he had a sudden thought and it was the certainty of this he carried with him into oblivion.

The stranger raised his wand. ‘Mobilus Corpus.’ Manoeuvring carefully he bore the unconscious man to Hogwarts and rapped the door sharply.

A house elf opened it. ‘Yes?’

‘Can you find the Headmaster for me please? I have something of his.’

‘It’s very late. And Sati wouldn’t like to wake poor Professor Dumbledore from his sleep.’

‘This is very important.’ He stood back to reveal Snape slumped against the wall.

The elf cried out in concern, disappearing with a bang and returning with Professor McGonagall. ‘The Headmaster was not there. Professor McGonagall was,’ she explained.

‘That’s fine. Professor, I trust I can leave you to deal with this?’ Minerva looked at the form of her colleague in dismay and by the time she looked up the other man had vanished.

***********

‘I’m telling you, Albus, it was him.’ Snape sat up in his bed, banging it to make his point.

‘My dear boy, you were unconscious. Much as I would like to know the identity of your rescuer, Minerva swears the man looked nothing like Harry. He had much longer hair, almost like your own in fact, but tied back. His eyes were blue, you said this yourself. And he was much taller.’

‘Ask her what she’s been teaching them.’

‘Severus, as delighted as I am that you are finally recognising Harry’s ability, Minerva has sworn that even under those spells she would have recognised him.’

‘It was him Albus, there is no doubt about it. I can’t tell you I saw anything but I know it was him.’

‘Severus, you were practically in a coma. Perhaps you dreamt it. I did hear tell of a spat between you and Mr Potter last night. Maybe it was on your mind.’

‘How…? Don’t try and distract me, old man.’

‘How would he have known where to find you anyway?’

‘How would anyone know where I was? I refuse to believe a “mysterious stranger” was just walking in the woods and happened upon me.’

‘Miracles do happen, Severus.’

‘Perhaps…’

Dumbledore smiled affectionately at his friend and left the room. As Severus was drifting back into sleep he saw a figure hovering at the door. Unable to resist the heavy pull the medical potions were having, he could not force himself to stay awake. Still, as his eyes closed he swore he saw the shape change and, in the flicker of lamplight, blue eyes melted into green.