Another update! Things are slow here at work, so I got one out today! Thanks to all who reviewed! I'll only address concerns and questions.
Haldir's Girl: The Professor Dumbledore issue will be addressed here.
Blaise: Y'all should thank him/her. It is because of him/her that I'm continuing this so soon. Ron's story will be in this one.
Xikum: I run into you everywhere! You'll have to read to find out what is happening here.
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Dinner came and Harry strode into the hall. He was getting rather interesting looks from the Gryffindors, especially Ginny, who had been made prefect. Amanda Hopston, who had been his friend last year, wouldn't even look him in the eye. He took his seat next to Professor Snape and nodded his greeting to McGonagall, who was eyeing him strangely. He leaned over to Snape.
"I guess she heard," he smirked. He nodded and looked out among the sea of students, glaring. They immediately returned their gazes to their tables and friends. Soon, the food came and went, and everyone got up to leave. Harry walked calmly through the castle, down to the dungeons. Snape came out to find Harry speaking with the founder that guarded his chambers.
"If you're quite finished?" he mocked. Harry bid Salazar goodnight in Parseltongue and followed Severus into his chambers. "Tea?" Harry nodded, accepting the cup, and sat on the couch. He looked around.
"Don't you ever re-decorate?"
"I have never had the need. Are you questioning my tastes?" Harry laughed.
"Of course. Haven't I always defied you at every turn?"
"No, but you've annoyed me for far too long."
"And now I get to do it even more."
"Lucky me. I believe you wished to discuss something?" Snape sipped his tea, but Harry just set his down, untouched. Noting this with a raised eyebrow, Snape waited for an explanation.
"I think you wanted to know why I've changed in my attitude towards professors."
"Yes, if I recall, you were not the most respectful student. I believe you upheld your father's legacy in insulting me." Harry winced.
"Well, you and Trelawney. I swear, that old bat had it in for me from day one. I didn't escape that class without at least one doom and gloom prediction about my death. I know I've apologized already to you, but I don't think I ever thanked you."
"For what?" Now Snape was really confused, and intrigued.
"If I had paid heed to your warnings, I don't think Ron would have had the chance he did." Then it clicked; this was about Weasley.
"Come to think of it, after that…incident, you were more respectful toward me."
"That's because the Headmaster made me realize you were trying to help me. I'd always thought that because of my father, you hated me and wanted me expelled, or even dead."
"Expelled, yes. Dead? No, I don't think Albus would have liked that much." Harry snorted, remembering his Headmaster and old mentor. "I hated James Potter, that was no secret. The Golden Boy of Gryffindor who always got his way and never expelled. In our fifth year, a Slytherin tried to retaliate against your father and Black. He was expelled the next day. That was the point that my disgust turned to hatred. But your mother I respected. I never did, and still don't, know why she chose to hang out with them. I think she kept them from pulling half the things on me they wanted to. Of course, most of that got redirected to Lucius." Harry smiled at the image of Sirius and his father getting the better of Lucius Malfoy day after day. "Your mother and I were friends throughout our schooling." Snape paused, realizing they had strayed from the topic. "Tell me what happened with Weasley."
Harry closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. "I think Hermione noticed, but I never did. He and Hermione had just broken up, rather violently. He started to detach from us, recede into himself. I didn't know this at the time, but he had started going to Trelawney with a lot of his problems. She, naturally, told him he could escape all that, get out of my shadow, and have power of his own."
"I noticed some things in his behavior that mirrored my own at that age. I wasn't originally a spy, and the want for power was high when I was a student here."
"That night, after he was taken to the ministry, I came down here. I was still trying to justify his actions, find something that maybe I had done to drive him to the Dark Lord."
"Harry, nothing you did, or could have done, would have changed or enforced his decision. It was his choice, not yours, and he made the wrong one." Snape paused in thought, then continued. "Why did you come to me that night? Why didn't you go to the Headmaster?"
"Because they were trying to tell me that it wasn't my fault. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin, they all tried to baby me and coo over me. I think Pompfrey wanted me to stay in the Hospital Wing over night, even though nothing had happened. I managed to convince them nothing was wrong, and they left me in my dorms. I took out my invisibility cloak and came down here. At least you wouldn't try to baby me."
Snape actually laughed at this. "Me, baby you? There's a thought."
"I have a question. Why didn't you throw me out? I was surprised you even let me in your chambers, much less let me stay."
"Yes, that surprised me as well. I don't know, I'd heard about the incident, as Dumbledore had come to all the Heads of House and explained. Something in me actually expected you to come, and it was that that allowed you to stay."
"And why did you let me come back?" Harry prodded, almost smirking.
"Truthfully?"
"Always best."
"Because you needed someone to talk to. And I realized after that first night that I did as well." Harry smiled and sighed.
"I'm going to Adando Cemetery tomorrow, would you like to join me?" Snape nodded, thinking back to his mentor. Several minutes of silence passed before Harry spoke again, softly. "I miss him sometimes."
"I miss him all the time." There was no doubt as to whom they were referring. "Sometimes I find myself longing for him to show up and offer one of those damnable lemon drops."
"You never once took one, did you?"
"No, and I wish I had, if only to see that annoying twinkle flare up in his eyes. Now, I'll never get the chance." Harry smiled and held out a closed hand. Snape, bewildered, held his palm up, and Harry deposited a lemon drop into it.
"For tomorrow, or now, or whenever you like. You know, every time I talked to him and you were mentioned, that 'annoying twinkle' would shine through." Snape nodded, then asked the question they were both dreading.
"How did he die?" Harry took in a sharp breath; he hadn't been expecting it so soon.
"Voldemort had taken the three of us to his main chamber. Sirius charged him first, the mutt, and Voldemort struck him down." Snape nodded, he'd been told as much by the boy, but every time the Headmaster was brought up, he'd evade the question most avidly. "Dumbledore didn't charge him, but he stepped in front of me, shielding me from whatever. Voldemort used some sort of summoning charm and pulled Dumbledore to him. I don't know when he became stronger than the Headmaster; I'd always thought Voldemort feared Dumbledore."
"That was Lucius' doing. After the last raid, Lucius knew they were going to die, or be captured, so before they left, the five strongest Death Eaters performed some sort of conversion spell that would allow their magic and power to be given to Voldemort when they died."
"That's the night you were discovered," Harry pointed out.
"Yes, because I refused. I would not allow my essence to be used by him."
"I guess with the combined power of four powerful wizards and his own, he was able to overpower Dumbledore. He bound me to a chair and—" Harry choked on the words, willing the tears to stay back. They obeyed, for now, and he inhaled a shaky breath. "I watched as the life was tortured out of him. I don't know how long I was there, minutes, maybe hours. When he finally did let him die, I don't know, something inside me snapped, and I exploded. When I regained consciousness, I was in the Hospital Wing, and Pompfrey told me I had defeated the Dark Lord." Snape was taken aback. "Why did he do it?" The simple question was the most difficult Snape had ever had to answer.
"I don't know Harry. He's always held himself personally responsible for the students' well-being, particularly yours. After your parents died, he wanted to take you in, but the Ministry wouldn't let him."
"Anything would have been better than those damned Dursleys. Although I did get some satisfaction after returning home last summer. Now that I was a fully-trained wizard, I didn't have any restrictions. That was probably the best summer of my life." Snape grumbled something under his breath, and Harry leaned in. "What was that Professor?"
"I said if I had known before your seventh year I would have taken you in." Harry laughed slightly.
"That would have gone over well with the Ministry. Though I suspect it would have made Dumbledore happy."
"Yes, he always was trying to get us to get along with each other."
"Yeah, McGonagall even bet him that we would go my whole seven years without a civil word between us." Snape scoffed.
"Really?"
"Yeah, joke's on her I guess." Harry stood, feeling much better than he had when he'd come in, and stretched. "I better get going. I have first year Slytherin/Gryffindor first thing in the morning."
"I have them second." Snape stood as well, escorting Harry to the door.
"Goodnight Professor, I'll talk to you at lunch about going to Adando."
"Please, we're colleagues now, not student and teacher. You may call me Severus when we're alone." Harry genuinely grinned.
"I wish I had gotten that on tape."
"On what?"
"Never mind. Goodnight Severus."
"Goodnight Harry."
