An: Once again Shadownitewolf AKA LightDarkShadows has done me the honors of checking over this for me. I thank her wholeheartedly. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: Meeting the Others

Severus was not thinking about his current appearance. Nor did it even cross his mind that someone else might be in the house when he got home. No, the only thoughts that were running through his mind was what type of snack was going to substitute for supper and how soon he was going to be able to dissect the information that was secreted about his robes. His black robe was tossed over his shoulder and his others were in a pocket as he strode up the front stairs and through the door, intent on getting to his study.

That he was stopped at wand point for the second time that day did not make him happy. "Potter, put it away. I have too much to do to humor you with a duel."

Harry took in the blue eyes, strawberry blond hair, and the shorter height. The words and tone of that statement said it was Severus, but the appearance said it wasn't. He held his wand steady while he tried to determine how he could tell that this was indeed Severus.

Growling lightly, Severus went to pull his own wand when he noticed the green robes and the shorter hands. 'I'm still Stanton. And will be for the next half hour.' Narrowing his eyes at the end of the wand that was pointed at him, he realized that he was more afraid of it than he had been of Atcheson's earlier. Of course that might have to do with the fact he knew there was a trained auror on the other end who also happened to be Harry Potter. Changing his hand's direction, he pulled his real wand out of his boot. "Potter, this is my wand," He held up the edge of the robe draped over his shoulder. "and these are my robes. I am polyjuiced for the next half hour. Did you find my note for you?"

Harry took in the wand and robes before looking once again into the blue eyes trying to discern the truth. Polyjuice would explain it, and there had been a note saying Severus would be out that afternoon. Taking a breath, he kept his wand steady as he asked a question that only a few would know the answer too. And he didn't think Ron or Hermione would try to break into Severus' house. "Why did I need remedial potions during my fifth year, Professor?"

Severus shifted his gaze to the green eyes that looked like they were trying to dissect him. 'Of course he is worried. Macon has already tried to find his way here, and the Unspeakables are obviously trying to get a hold of me. Moody trained him well.' He turned his wand so that it was pointing at one of the walls but he could still cast a protego quickly. "I told you to call me as you have always tried to do at school, Potter. The Dark Lord could access your mind so Albus required that I teach you occulmency."

Harry felt relief wash over him and he lowered his wand. "Sorry Snape. There were a lot of interested people at the Ministry today. You forgot to mention that you would be polyjuiced in your note."

Shaking his head slightly, Severus moved towards the study. "There is no need to apologize Potter. I thank you for being cautious about who was entering the house." He stopped at his desk and emptied the scrolls out of his robe.

Harry followed him and stopped just short of the desk looking at the scrolls. "Where did you go today, and who are you supposed to be?"

Severus looked up and then remembered that Stanton was supposed to meet up with Harry. Walking around the desk, he gestured for Harry to take one of the chairs near the empty fireplace. After Harry sat down, he paced back and forth fighting with himself about reveling more about Stanton to the other man. 'We're partners in this case. He needs to know about it. He needs to see how Stanton would act so that he can talk to Garrick about him.'

Drawing a deep breath, he turned to face Harry. "Harry, the Dark Lord and Albus needed someone that they could send to St. Mungo's to help take care of the members of their respective groups. In the first war, they both suggested that I do it as I am a Potions Master. It is not a good thing to ignore the Dark Lord's suggestions. With my health and continual existence a priority to me, I opted to create a persona that could walk through St. Mungo's without being questioned. This is the form of a muggle that lives near my childhood home. I have enough samples of his hair," He caught the beginning of a frown on Harry's face. "taken with his permission, to continue like this for a while yet. I am known as Healer Samuel Stanton, specialist is dark curses and potions."

He waited a moment to see if Harry had any questions. When none were forth coming, he continued. "I created an entire history for Stanton. He lost a loved one to a dark curse, which is why he focused on the cure of them. He is a cantankerous, grumpy man who takes nothing from anyone. The healers at St. Mungo's that know him know better than to get between him and his patient. He is likely to curse you for it and heal you later. He growls, fusses, and in general raises Cain about anything that he finds wrong. But he is also one of the best in the field, and it wasn't long before he was being called in to help with cases. Saved me from having to explain how I knew I was needed there."

Harry tried not to laugh at the personality Severus was describing. "So, your teaching persona and Stanton's are the same? And are you really the best in the field?"

Severus scowled at the boy. "There are distinct differences and you are going to have to make sure you know what they are. Stanton scowls, and never raises an eyebrow. He growls and grumps, he does not pontificate or deliver long lectures unless it is about a patient. He flies off the handle faster than Professor Snape did. He is a nice person, but don't try and stop him from doing what he thinks is right. He is currently living on the Isle of Man, just in case Garrick needs you to verify some thing about him." He reached into his robes and pulled his lightly colored wand. "And this is Stanton's wand."

"Hold on, you know Garrick and you know that I am supposed to be meeting someone?" Harry blinked as the pieces fell into place. "You.. you are the healer he was trying to get in touch with. He said that he would try and get him to met me to send some information to you." His lips curled up at the humor of it before he gave up and started laughing. "So, you are supposed to give me information just for me to turn around and give back to you."

Severus raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes, Harry I get the backwardness of it all. So, we are circumventing a few steps. Garrick's owl reached me this morning after you left requesting me to come in and aid him. He succeeded in slipping out a comprehensive collection of the patient charts to me, and I ran my own diagnostics as well." He saw the question that Harry was about to ask again. "Yes, I am really qualified as a healer with dark arts and potions as my specialties. It has never ceased to amaze me what can be filed at the Ministry that they are unaware of." He glanced at the time before he headed towards the door. "I'll be back in a moment Harry. If you would, could you go prepare us some sandwiches and meet me in the cellar." He headed up to their room so that he could change cloths and shapes.

Harry watched at the man walked out the door, so like and unlike Severus. Heading to the kitchen, it hit him that Severus had called him Harry the entire time after he lowered his wand. He built the sandwiches with a smile on his face. Balancing them and the tea pot, he headed down the cellar stairs. A quick flick of his wand lit the lights and he set his burden on a nearby crate. His attention was immediately grabbed by the large chart that covered the wall. After processing the information on that wall, he noticed the other one. And then his eyes and curiosity was caught by the cracked door.

"He didn't forbid me to from going in there." He edged closer to the door, his fingers resting on the wood. He almost jumped a mile when Severus' voice came from behind him.

"No, I didn't. Go ahead and look Harry, there is nothing working right know that you can destroy by standing at the door and looking." Severus smirked as Harry jumped. "If you go in, I just ask that you stay away from the cauldrons on the back counter."

Harry turned about trying to gauge if the man was being sarcastic. Seeing the amusement in the man's face he headed towards the door.

"Don't be long, Harry. I am hungry and would like to eat sometime." Severus set the scrolls down on one of the crates trying to decide which one to start with. 'I need to finish the patients chart before anything else.' He added the rest of the patients to the shorter chart all the while keeping an ear to the sounds coming out of his lab. He was on pins and needles waiting on a disaster.

Harry crossed the threshold, pushing the door gently out of his way. Letting his gaze dance about, he took in the cabinets that were hung on all the walls. A few of them were opened just enough to see the ingredients in them. There was a long counter that went the perimeter of the room that had shelves under them. The shelves were filled with cauldrons, grinding stones, mortars, pestles, scales, and other measuring tools. A table was in the center of the room that had stacks of wood underneath it. It also had drawers which Harry was sure held a large collection of knives and sharpeners. On the back counter was four cauldrons, two of which were bubbling away.

Walking further in, he rested a hand on the slate table top. The room felt peaceful. It was such a marked difference between it and the potions classroom that Harry wasn't sure he was in a place where potions were made. He felt more than heard Severus come up behind him. "It is peaceful in here. I expected it to feel like your classroom."

Severus felt his anxiety fade when he saw Harry just standing in the center of his room. "It is because there are not a multitude of children making a multitude of potentially life threatening mistakes." He watched as the man turned slightly to grin up at him.

"Yeah, that would would destroy the peace. How did you watch all of us and stop us from dieing in there? I heard today that there was a serious accident last year. The student didn't die, but I think they said he would have problems walking the rest of his life." Harry watched the face of the man he was starting to learn to read. A flash of pain and worry crossed it before it disappeared.

"Johnson will be fine. Fortunately, he won't have to worry about having to work much, at least not in a shop or something like that. He will be a fine researcher one day. My reputation was not all for show. It kept you safe in my class. Not many had the guts to defy me and serve my detentions as regularly as you did."

"Maybe you should teach the new professors how to do it." Harry headed towards the door, brushing against Severus on his way out. "Come on, we have charts to fill in and food to eat."

Severus watched as Harry crossed over to the scrolls. "Why don't we start with Garrick's records and then move to my observations and tests? If you read them out, I'll mark the charts." Grabbing a sandwich, he walked back over to the walls, quill in hand.

Harry picked up the scroll that was marked with an impression of Garrick's ring. Breaking the seal, he unscrolled it and began to read."Anna Gipson, age 16..." Harry looked up an met Severus eyes.

"They are all young, Harry. Let's just get through this so that we can get them out of that ward." Even if his words were short, his eyes showed that he understood how Harry felt.

Harry nodded and looked back at the scroll. They had a lot to get through.

ハリーポッター セブルススネイプ

Harry wasn't sure what time it was when he had dragged himself to bed. All he knew was that the sun hadn't risen yet. It was at a decent height in the sky when he peeled his eyelids open. Rubbing his eyes, he let his mind roam over his day yesterday.

He had gone and made his obligatory appearance at St. Mungo's. He informed the guard that he was lucky to be alive, and that Master Snape was thinking about coming at some point. When he wasn't sure, but sometime. The guard had quietly pointed him in the direction to find Healer Garrick, and told him out loud that there was no information that he could give to him since he was not Snape.

From there he had gone to the Ministry. With some help from Hermione via Ron, he was disguised, under his invisibility cloak and sneaking through the file room looking for answers to Severus questions. The one that he was specifically looking for was whether Voldemort's potion labs had been found and closed down. The answer he found was not encouraging. They knew the locations, Severus had told them, but not one had been investigated. Somehow, they kept being pushed down on the priority list until they just fell off.

After finding that disheartening news, he had gone to lunch with Ron and received his two galleons in change from Hermione. He promised to come over for dinner tomorrow night. That was when Ron entertained him with stories of the disasters that had been happening in the Hogwarts Potions classroom. The Board of Governors, who had celebrated when Snape had declared he wasn't coming back, had been unable to interest Slughorn to return and were now regretting not having Snape in the classroom. When he asked how Ron found out, Ron told him that it was one of his odd office jobs. He had to file the complaints and injuries that resulted from the potions accidents. The files hadn't been updated in nearly ten years.

He had then come home, since there was nothing else to do. He remembered to stop by and pick up his broom, and was going to see if he could talk Severus into going flying with him. Then he found the letter and settled into the study to wait. He read a book on potion ingredients trying to find out what used thistle and dandelions. He hadn't found any by the time he had looked up and saw a stranger striding across the lawn towards the front door.

The rest of the evening had turned into a blur. There were a few things that stood out to him. One was that Severus called him Harry nonstop. The second was that he thought that Hermione was brilliant, but she didn't hold a candle to Severus. Or maybe she did and didn't show it. He was still amazed that the man had been able to tell the name of a potion after he mangled it, and then knew all the ingredients off the top of his head. There had been a break through of sorts, at least Severus seemed to think so. Everyone of the patients received the same unknown potion three to four years ago. That had lead to him tell Severus about Voldemort's labs. Which had in turn lead to some colorful cursing and some dire threats from the former Death Eater spy. Sometime after the cursing and Severus retiring to the study to write up some official looking charts, Harry had pulled himself up to his bed. He had left the older man at his desk.

Rousting himself from the warm cocoon of blankets, he headed to the bathroom to start his day. When he walked into the kitchen, he was surprised to see breakfast sitting at the table waiting for him. He turned about when Severus came through the hall door.

"Morning, Potter. I've already eaten, so don't wait on me." Severus continued through heading for the back door.

"Harry." He watched as Severus stopped at the door and looked at him. "You called me Harry all last night. I want you to continue."

Severus felt his fingers tighten on the door handle as he looked back at the door. Last night he had been so caught up in finding out what they needed to know, the information that would give them a starting place, he hadn't realized that he had called Harry his given name out loud. 'He gave me permission. Would it be bad to do so? It would remove a layer of formality, and I haven't discussed the bond with him yet. But he is asking. Could I give him the same permission? Could I handle him calling me Severus?' Making sure his face was not showing his inner turmoil, he turned to face Harry. "I thank you for your permission. I am sorry that I overstepped my bounds last night. If you wish, you may call me Severus." Giving a curt nod, he opened the door and hurried out before Harry could answer.

Severus worked in the greenhouse that morning. The smell of the wet, warm dirt settled him a bit. His mind had been whirling about all morning attempting to figure out what his next move should be. He knew that he needed to be making the potions that would clean out the systems of the eighteen children that were trapped in a ward at St. Mungo's at the mercy of the Unspeakables. But before he could attempt that he needed to verify what Jarrett and Klain's potion research group and the others before them had put into their cure attempts. He had a good idea, but that wasn't good enough.

Knowing that he had to resurrect yet another persona, he had sent a message to Master Derrick Baldwin of Jarrett and Klain's to ask permission for Nicholas Aberdeen to stop by that afternoon. Rubbing his temples, he considered how to explain Nicholas Aberdeen to Harry. He knew that the auror would want to go with him. And then he would have to explain who Holden Pierce was.

Looking up at the sound of parchment fluttering lightly in the wind, he spotted Nise swooping down at him. He handed her a small treat once she had alighted on his shoulder and passed him the missive.

Unscrolling the parchment, he looked to see if he was still welcomed. Smirking lightly, he let the parchment roll back up. 'It is amazing just how much they like Nicholas.' Running a finger over Nise's head, he sent her on her way. Heading towards the house, he tried to compose how he would explain this to Harry so that he could quickly get out the door. Derrick wanted him there before lunchtime.

ハリーポッター セブルススネイプ

The first thing he noticed when he entered the house was that the dishes were done and the table was washed. He crossed the kitchen and looked in the family room to see if Harry had found his way in there. He spotted his quarry looking out the window. Drawing a breath, he prepared speak about the persona that no one but he knew was him. "Harry, I need to go out again today. I have to go verify some information at Jarrett and Klain's."

Harry turned to face him, a small smile on his face. This telling each other where they were going reminded him of Hermione and Ron. "Can I come with you? I have no where to be until later tonight. I'm having dinner with Ron and Hermione."

Severus crossed the room until he was just a few paces away from the other man. "I am not going as myself. I am going as Potions Master Nicholas Aberdeen. And Nicholas would not been seen with anyone." He waited, wondering if Harry was going to push this.

"Surely Nicholas would have some sort of apprentice by now. I might not know much about potions, but I can at least listen. You and I both know that I am good at finding information."

Severus sighed lightly. He would have to explain. "Aberdeen is never seen with anyone because he has told everyone that his partner would not agree to it. He will only go out in large groups. His partner, Holden Pierce, is over protective, but Nicholas is okay with that. No one there has ever seen Holden, but they all know what type of hold he has over Nicholas."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise and took a step forward. "I'll be Holden." He caught the dark eyes that were looking down at him. "I can play the overprotective partner." He reached up and rested a hand on the back of Severus' neck.

Severus froze as the slim warm hand settled on his neck, his eyes still locked on the ones looking at him. He took a breath in a moment later. "You can't go as yourself. You will have to be polyjuiced and remember to keep taking it. Much like Crouch, Jr. did your fourth year." Even as he continued the conversation Albus' voice in the back of his head kept telling him to move. The hand on his neck was keeping him there.

Harry stepped slightly closer. "I can do that. I just need to find someone to change into."

"He will have to be about my age. Holden has been with Nicholas since you were a toddler." He soaked the warmth that was radiating towards him. "And you can't act surprised at how I behave. Nicholas is a friendly person. He hardly has a unkind word to say and is typically willing to lend a helping hand. The only thing that he is really touchy about is people getting into his personal space." His eyes skated across the face that was tilted up. "Are you sure you wish to do this?"

Harry tried to imagine a friendly happy Severus and failed. "So, Nicholas doesn't let anyone but Holden into his personal space?" When Severus nodded, Harry smiled. "Good. I definitely want to be him." Applying pressure to the taller man's neck, he drew the lips that had been tempting him to his. As they touched, he held in a groan.

Severus knew what was happening as soon as Harry drew him down, but didn't fight it. This was not Potter, it was his Harry. And he was tired of waiting. When their lips touched, the contentment that he always associated with Harry puffed away, leaving a deep passion that was curling its way around his bones. He slid his arms around the younger man, one hand finding its way into the black hair gripping the scalp lightly. A small section of his brain wanted him to deepen the kiss, but he ignored it. At that moment he was enjoying the feel of Harry's body truly flush against him and the feel of those soft lips under his.

Harry marveled at the feel of the thin lips pressed against his. Even without deepening the kiss it was better than any he had ever received. Warmth slipped from his lips, down his throat, swelling his heart, before finding its way to his toes. Normally it was a chilling cold that did that. Moving just little, he tried to get even closer. The hand that was tangled in the shoulder length black hair slid down to stroke the smooth skin of Severus' neck. He felt Severus' breath hitch and the arms holding him tighten.

The feeling of fingers on his neck brought Severus back to his senses. 'This has to stop. I promised myself. And I never break my promises, especially ones to myself. We also need to get moving if we are going to make it to Jarrett and Klain's in time.' Reluctantly ending the kiss, he rested his chin on top of the dark head. "Harry, we are going to have to talk later. Right now, we need to get ready to leave. I'll get the vial of polyjuice and a flask for you. You need to find a muggle who is about your current build so you can still fit your clothes. I'll see you in fifteen minutes back in this room." Brushing his lips across the top of the head that had been his chin rest, he let Harry go and headed out the door.

Harry watched him leave the room. What did they need to talk about? That kiss had been as close to perfect that he had ever experienced. 'Maybe he justs wants to be sure that we are both are ready.' Burying the aggravation that was trying to well up, he focused on the happiness that he felt. Severus was letting him come with him. With a smile he touched his lips before he headed out to find some hair.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry watched as a person that had roughly the same build as Severus step into the family room. The man had light brown eyes and hair. His skin was a touch browner than Severus as well. The light blue robes swirled lightly around the man's feet. "Nicholas Aberdeen?"

Severus nodded. "This is Nicholas." He brushed a hand down the robes. "It gave me a way to use all those robes that Albus insisted on giving me." He held out the flask of polyjuice.

Harry noticed the small label on the side of the bottle said Holden Pierce. Smiling, he dropped a hair into the bubbling mixture.

Severus watched as his last flask of polyjuice changed colors. "Two sips now, and the one sip every hour to hold. Don't over do it. This is the last I have prepared and you might need this persona again soon."

Harry nodded before he took the two sips. A few painful moments later a blond haired, sky blue eyed man was standing there. He took the hip flask that Severus was handing him. Taking the other man's hand, he pulled Severus off to the apparition point. It was time to gather even more information.