Author's note: Thank you again for the wonderful feedback! Hearing your opinions on the matter is very helpful! I took everything you guys suggested into consideration.

Also, I apologize for any potential future bloopers with canon events. I read the books as a teenager when they released and since then dived into fanfiction, which tends to focus more on particular aspects of the books.

I am rather pleased with how this chapter turned out, so I hope you guys will enjoy it too:-)

#-&-HP-&-#

Harry was stepping in front of Snape's office anxiously. He wasn't looking forward to his detention/training today. Last night didn't go well at all. Snape raped his mind properly, revealing too many painful memories, and unlike last year, he even acted on them. Not only Harry barely escaped a paddling, but Snape also decided it was a good time to poke at his childhood. He never mentioned anything he had seen in Harry's mind before, that was an unspoken rule. Snape was supposed to be teaching him, not rummaging for information to be used against Harry. Harry also failed to resist Snape's Imperius just as he failed to resist Snape's Legilimency and the man just looked pissed and displeased the entire time. He didn't even have the decency to accept Harry's apology, and it was not an easy one to give!

Harry knocked softly and entered the office finding Snape at his desk grading papers as usual. Snape didn't even raise the head to acknowledge the teen.

"Potter, sit down. I left some books there for you to study."

"Study?" Harry asked with confusion. Aren't they gonna practice DADA?

Snape finally looked at him with the usual sneer on his face, "Oh right, Potter, the concept must be new to you. You see, 'study' is when you devote time and attention to gain knowledge on an academic subject, usually by reading books."

"Oh, that! You are right, Sir, I haven't done that before. I don't think I know how to read!" Harry replied matching Snape's sarcasm.

"You poor thing. It's ok, you can scrub cauldrons instead then." Snape commented dryly. He was not going to put up with any cheek.

"I'll study," Harry said giving up, "I just thought, we are going to practice DADA some more," he added pouting slightly.

"Potter, I don't know if you noticed, but I am actually employed here. I get money by working, which I am doing right now. I can't cater to your needs all the time." Harry scowled at him. Snape was going to be a pain in the ass today, and Harry was just not in the mood.

"Bloody bat," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Snape asked sharply.

"Nothing," Harry answered with attitude and immediately winced as the pain erupted in his temples. Snape smirked watching the teenager being punished for lying and disrespect with a sense of satisfaction.

Harry struggled for a bit trying to withstand the pain to preserve the ego but gave up after a minute.

"Oh for god's sake! Give me a break! I called you a bloody bat and I'm sorry!" he practically yelled at Snape, his face reddening with embarrassment. Snape couldn't help his lips quirking up slightly in amusement. Sometimes he really enjoyed the bond doing his job for him.

"Watch your temper, Potter. You are displaying self-control worthy of a 5-year-old." Snape scolded him and Harry had the decency to appear ashamed.

"Sorry," he muttered much more politely this time and noticed that the pain in his head disappeared.

"Work on the wandless magic. We will practice it tomorrow." Snape said turning his attention back to the pile of papers.

Harry looked at the books, they were all on the wandless magic. He chose the guide for beginners as the most friendly looking one and started reading. The topic was interesting and quite advanced. Harry could summon objects wandlessly, but it was a spell that many wizards could do, battle spells were on a whole different level though and Harry was happy, that Snape deemed him skillful enough to give him such exacting magic to study. He soon found the need to take notes, to structure the knowledge better. He raised his head to ask Snape for parchment and then decided not to bother the man with trivialities. He could transform something, or maybe conjure? He never conjured paper before, but he could try. He concentrated and muttered the incantation. To his surprise, a decent parchment appeared in front of him. Harry smiled with satisfaction and attempted to get the quill. It was a harder task because the quill was a relatively complex object consisting of several subparts. It took him way longer to produce all the necessary items and he did make a mess getting the ink all over his desk. He was so focused on his self-appointed task, he didn't notice that his Master was watching him intently the entire time.

Snape momentarily forgot the grading to watch Harry conjure the writing supplies. He was pleased the boy was mature enough to take the studying seriously. At first, he was tempted to snap at the brat to just ask for writing supplies and not waste time on useless spells, but he was too curious whether the boy could actually produce a quill. McGonagall told him, that Potter was excelling in Transfiguration this year and he was shocked to hear Slughorn praise Potter in Potions! Besides, Harry was performing quite well during his own training, the last couple of days. He shouldn't be surprised anymore at the boy's talent, and yet he couldn't help feeling impressed when Potter after 20 minutes finally managed to create a decent writing quill out of a thin air.

"So worth the time, Potter," he commented feigning disgruntlement. Harry shot him a look of mixed hurt and anger. Nothing I do will ever be good enough for you, huh?

Snape expected some smart comeback from the teenager, and when none came, he felt uncharacteristically uneasy for laying on Harry unnecessarily.

"I heard you are doing quite well in Potions," he mentioned casually trying to alleviate the unpleasant guilty feeling.

"Yeah, I have been saving myself for Slughorn," Harry replied with a smug cheeky smile, "He liked my mom and all."

Snape couldn't help an amused chuckle escaping his lips. If the main criterium for you to do well in Potions, was the teacher liking you mom, then you should have been an absolute Ace in MY class, you miserable brat.

#-&-HP-&-#

The weather was ideal for Quidditch practice. Sun was setting soon, but there will still be a couple of hours of good visibility. It was warm outside, which was not common for late September, and the wind was refreshing but mild enough not to intervene with the aerial sport. Harry missed Quidditch, it was one thing he always felt quite confident about and last year's ban was crushing for him. Now he was the Captain, responsible for more than just catching the snitch, but for the team itself, for scheduling practices, finding replacements, coming up with the strategy and solving the arguments. Harry didn't mind the responsibility. Sure, mostly he just loved to fly and compete on the field, but he liked people looking up to him to make a decision, and not because he was The Boy Who Lived, but because he was simply good at it.

Harry smiled at the approaching Gryffindor players. Ron played the Keeper this year, Ginny and Demelza Robins replaced Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet as Chasers, they had brand new beaters Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote, and Cormac McLaggen and Dean Thomas were the substitutes. The only missing one was the third chaser Katie Bell, who in all years Harry played Quidditch never failed to be late for practice. Harry smiled to himself, some things just never change.

"Ready for the first practice?" Harry asked grinning.

"Yes, Captain!" Ron saluted him teasingly.

"We are still missing Katie.. oh what the hell?" Demelza's face twisted in a frown as her gaze fell behind Harry. Harry turned to see the unmistakable green colors of Slytherin players approaching the Quidditch pitch. Damn it, what now?

"Potter, aren't you supposed to be on detention now?" Zabini asked eyeing him suspiciously.

"That's none of your business. For the record I already served it. But I don't see how it matters, Gryffindor has a scheduled practice here, with or without the Captain," Harry answered, his tone sounding way more confident than he felt. Slytherin team had also some fresh faces among them, the most surprising one being the certain petite black-haired girl, that was glaring daggers at him as soon as he set eyes on her.

"Well, we thought, you won't have the practice, and the weather is nice," the Slytherin Captain shrugged his shoulders.

"Well you thought wrong, so piss off," Ron huffed, glaring at Zabini.

"Calm your tits, Weasley," Malfoy interjected, "We play each other the first game of the season, maybe we could use this as a practice run?"

"Like a friendly match?"

"No Potter, more like an unfriendly match," Nalanell snapped at Harry and he couldn't help his lips quirking up. The truth was that her everpresent hateful attitude combined with the pouty face and tiny stature looked more cute than threatening and Harry found it rather amusing.

"You have new players, we have a new chaser and a new beater," Malfoy said wrapping his hand around Nell's shoulders and she shook his hand off with a glare.

"Scary beater," Ron chuckled at the scene.

"Don't worry, ginger. I'll go easy on you," Nalanell replied with a sneer.

Harry turned to his teammates, "Well, we could use the actual field practice, I guess. Dean, you can take Katie's position on the left flank, for now."

Harry realized, that not playing Quidditch for almost a year took its toll and he was a bit out of practice when he failed to avoid the bludger within the first 5 minutes of the game. It was not a strong hit, perhaps he might get a bruise on his thigh, but it threw him of the trace of the snitch. He saw the self-satisfied smirk on Nalanell face. "Oops, Potter," she sang as she flew past him.

Harry was quite satisfied with the performance of the team overall. The new beaters were strong and their aim was decent as well, Ginny as a chaser was even better than as a seeker last year and Dean was doing quite well as well. Ron did let a couple of goals pass, but overall the only person who didn't particularly perform was Harry himself. Nalanell also made sure to throw Harry of the trail by targeting him relentlessly whenever he went after the snitch. In the end, Malfoy was the one to catch the snitch, but they just kept going for the sake of practice.

After some time Harry finally spotted the small golden ball again, it was flying uncharacteristically high above the pitch, Harry went after it and immediately spotted Nalanell tailing him. She batted the bludger at him but missed. Jimmy noticed that Harry was finally after the snitch and that the Slytherin girl wouldn't leave him alone, and struck the bludger at her with force. Not expecting to be the target, Nalanell didn't see it coming. The bludger hit her broom giving it a high spinning velocity and throwing her off the broom. Harry saw the girl holding onto the broom by one hand and rushed to help her up, but before he could reach her, Nalanell was plummeting to the ground with a shriek.

There was no time to think it through, Harry was the closest, so he dived after her, pressing his body as close to the broom as possible to gain the necessary speed. The ground was approaching him faster than he hoped, and too late he realized that even if he gets to her, he won't be able to stop in time. In the last moment, he grabbed Nell, pressed her towards his chest, spun the broom around and braced for the impact. They hit the ground hard with Harry's back sliding on the grass for a good 5 meters, scratching and bruising it heavily. If it weren't for the cushioning charms that were always up on the pitch, they would have probably both broken their necks.

Harry groaned at the pain in his back and opened his eyes to see the black mop of Nala's hair in his face. The girl was clutching his shirt fiercely with her fists and her eyes opened at the sound of Harry's pained grunt.

"You OK?" Harry asked the girl on his chest watching as the relief washed over her face. For a moment Harry thought she is going to thank him, but she suddenly jumped away from him as if burned by a hot iron. She stumbled backward and fell, panic crossing her features. Harry got up and went to help Nalanell up, but when he reached for her, she slapped his hand away looking at him with a mix of rage and hatred.

"Why did you do that?" she hissed furiously.

"What?" Harry asked taken aback by the sudden change.

"I told you to leave me alone!" she spat angrily.

"Are you crazy? I saved you!" Harry snapped his own temper flaring. And then he felt pain erupting under his eye from a well placed left hook of Nalanell's fist. She punched me, she just fucking punched me!

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he yelled after her holding his throbbing cheek with his hand and watching the girl run away from the pitch.

"That bitch!" Ron exclaimed as he and the other Gryffindor players landed next to Harry.

"Are you OK, Harry? That was a nasty fall!" Ginny asked looking at him with worry. Harry just nodded, his ego smarting from the punch much more than his back from the rough landing.

"Potter, you are such a ladies man," Malfoy teased him with a sneer, but Harry was so furious he couldn't even think of any smart comeback. Needless to say, the Quidditch practice ended there.

#-&-HP-&-#

Harry was walking through the Hogwarts corridors muttering angrily under his breath when he ran smack into the black robes of his Master.

"Merlin, Potter, what happened to you?" Snape asked him taking in the trashed state of the teenager. Harry's cheek was swollen, his hair and robes full of grass and dirt, his cloak torn in several places.

"Slytherins happened! Your House is full of scumbags!" Harry retorted not even trying to contain his fury.

"Lower your voice, idiot!" Snape hissed at him sharply and Harry felt the dominating command silencing him from further raging. Snape motioned for him to follow and made his way to the dungeons.

"So what happened?" Snape finally asked when Harry closed the door of his living room.

"Slytherins came to our practice, even though I had the pitch blocked for Gryffindor!"

"And you decided to settle it with fists? Spells got out of fashion in a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Snape asked, his tone full of sarcasm.

"No, we actually played together."

"And the loser gets the black eye?"

"No, that was Nalanell!"

"What did you do to her?" Snape asked, his eyebrows raising in surprise.

"I saved her! Didn't know, that's how people show appreciation in your House!" Harry replied hotly, then he sighed seeing the confusion on his Master's face and added explaining, "She was hit with the bludger throwing her off the broom from the height, I managed to reach her before she hit the ground, but didn't have the time to stop anymore, so I landed on my back."

"How Gryffindor," Snape commented dryly, clearly unimpressed, "You are a wizard Potter, ever tried using a wand?"

"I didn't have a wand, I was playing Quidditch," Harry spat defensively.

"Potter, sometimes I really marvel at the lack of brain function that you display time and time again. The Dark Lord is back, you have a humongous target all over your forehead, and you wander around without your wand?" Snape scolded the teenager sternly.

"But we are at Hogwarts!"

"Oh right! Because there is absolutely no danger here EVER, right?! No possessed DADA teacher with a surprise under the turban, no Basilisk roaming the corridors, no Werewolves or Dementors, no Death Eaters throwing your name in a Goblet of Fire, no ministry appointed hags to permanently scar your hand with a blood quill..."

"Alright, alright, I get it! I will keep my wand with me at all times," Harry snapped rolling his eyes.

"Or perhaps you forgot that less than a week ago Death Eaters got through the wards on that very same Quidditch pitch?" Snape continued scolding him, not letting go.

"I said I get it!"

There was a slight pause.

"I wonder if perhaps tanning your hide will help to imprint the message and cure that attitude," Snape said dangerously and Harry blushed, immediately acquiring a more polite expression.

"No Sir, I'm sorry," Harry muttered casting his eyes on the floor.

Snape went to retrieve the salve for bruises from the med cabinet. He reached out to put the substance on the boy's cheek and Harry flinched away instinctively.

"Good reflexes Potter, try to use it around girls who want to punch you. Now hold still," Snape ordered, as he spread the cooling balm over the bruise on Harry's face. Harry was surprised by the gentleness of his Master's touch. He rather expected Snape to rub it in painfully and tell Harry to suck it up.

"What else hurts?"

"My back, Sir"

"Alright, undress," Snape instructed him and Harry flushed. He was not really comfortable undressing in front of Snape, but then again how else would the man treat his back.

Snape frowned at the sight of the nasty bruises all over Harry's back, Potter's ribs and elbow were also dark purple, and he could see the edge of the bruise behind the trousers on the boy's tailbone.

"Seriously Potter, I shall tell the Dark Lord not to waste time on trying to kill you, you are already doing a marvelous job by playing that stupid game," he snapped spreading the salve tenderly over the boy's ribs.

"That's not from Quidditch. That's from your little bullying game from yesterday." Harry smirked watching Snape's face twist in a frown with something that mildly resembled concern, or perhaps even guilt.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I wanted to, but I didn't exactly leave on friendly terms yesterday," Harry muttered remembering the unpleasant conversation of the previous evening.

"Yes, about that..." Snape broached the topic and Harry tensed. He certainly didn't want to talk about Dursleys and their treatment. It was embarrassing and Snape had no right to bring them up again.

"Your apology is accepted," the man said watching the boy's eyebrows raise in surprise. Severus steeled himself for the next part. He should apologize to the boy, Harry deserved as much.

"And you were right. I have always seen you just as the son of your father..." he trailed off. What am I supposed to say? Sorry, Potter, I didn't treat you nicely, oh and by the way, I'm actually responsible for the death of your parents and for the fact that you have a crazy evil wizard going after you your whole life? No hard feelings, huh? No there was simply no apology for this...

Harry waited for Snape to continue, but the man didn't say anything. "And now?" he asked unable to keep a tinge of hope from his voice.

Several answers ran through Severus's mind. A boy who suffered way too much, Lily's son, an abused child with a big heart capable of love and compassion, a powerful wizard...

"A brat," he said instead.

Harry let out an amused chuckle, "That's not much of an improvement, Sir," he said grinning.

Au contraire, Harry. It actually is.

"Tea?"

TBC...

Ok, I know it's not the heartfelt apology that many of you guys wanted to see, personally, I found it just as sweet though. Besides, it's Snape we are talking about... so, baby steps! He will get there eventually;)

Buckle up for some angst and trouble in the next chapter!