TITLE: In The Silence

NAME: Jack Quaker

SUMMARY: When Snape goes to what he believes to be a typical death eater meeting he is surprised to find himself caretaker of Voldemort's newest "toy"; a silent young man with the most beautiful turquoise eyes. What secrets does this man hold? Can Snape save him from the Dark Lord?

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or anything pertaining to the world of Harry Potter.

WARNING: Slash (Snape/OMC and Harry/Draco), mentions of torture and rape. AU, completely ignores books 6 & 7.

A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaack!!!!!!! See, I promised I wouldn't abandon this story and look… no Voldemort. :P

Severus sat in his office staring at the clock, not even glancing at the unmarked essays his students had turned in that day. As a head of house he was required to spend a certain number of hours in his office each day to make himself available to his students and right now Severus was willing the hours to go by quickly. All he wanted was the quiet comfort and solitude of his quarters so he could sulk in peace.

Not a week ago he had been living in near bliss and now, suddenly, life was hell in a way it had never been before. He wasn't quite sure how it happened, just that it had. Really though, it's not as though he should be surprised. What was the saying? Oh yes, all good things must come to an end. Only too true, Severus thought to himself morosely.

A timid knocking pulled Severus from his depressed musings. "Come in." He ordered sharply only to immediately regret it as he watched a head of messy black hair appear. Harry stood in the doorway for a few moments, obviously questioning the wisdom of entering.

"Is there any reason you have decided to inflict your presence on me or do you truly take joy in my suffering? Or perhaps it is merely that you have hidden masochistic tendencies and have come here to be ripped apart by my acidic barbs for I assure you I have nothing pleasant to say to you."

"No. I… I came to apologize." Harry said in a rush before visibly tensing as though expecting a blow. Severus himself was thrown off balance. He wasn't expecting an apology. "I'm still mad at you… especially for hitting me. But… well, you didn't deserve those things I said to you. I didn't listen to what everyone was trying to tell me and reacted before learning all the facts."

"So in short you were acting the typical Gryffindor." Harry's hands balled into fist as he tried to keep his temper under control.

"Can you blame me?" He asked hotly. "You knew how much Terren meant to me and you said nothing."

"Exactly. It's because of how much he meant to you that the headmaster and I said nothing. We knew you'd go running off on some fool's quest if you knew he was alive. We were trying to keep you safe you foolish boy!"

"I know." Harry whispered. "I know and that's why I'm apologizing." Severus sighed.

"I suppose you are expecting an apology from me as well."

"It'd be nice." The boy answered with a shrug. Severus couldn't help but smirk at that.

"Yes, I'm sure it would. You will be here directly after dinner for your first lesson." And with that Severus swept from his office, leaving a stunned Harry behind. Things weren't good now but they were better. Harry Potter had come to ask forgiveness of him and even more surprisingly he felt better having given it. Severus had even gone so far as to issue an apology of his own and if Harry missed it, well, that wasn't his problem.

His good mood was short lived, however. Returning to his rooms he found Terren in the bedroom, packing his belongings.

"What are you doing?"

'Packing.' Severus felt his throat constrict even as he felt his heart break. Of course Terren was packing, what else would he be doing? As if Terren would still want to be with him, especially after last night. A small sniffle brought Severus out of his wallowing. Snapping his gaze to Terren he studied the younger man. What he saw brought him hope. Sucking up his pride, Severus took action to save the best thing in his life.

Terren was startled as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. Severus' earthy smell enveloped his senses as he felt the older man nuzzled his neck. His mind raced along with his heart.

'What are you doing?'

"I'm sorry." Severus whispered, so softly it was hardly more than a sigh. Terren could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He turned around and looked Severus in the eye, making the older man feel as if he was peering into his very soul. Severus' body was tense, waiting for the rejection. He was completely unprepared for the brilliant smile Terren gave him and for the young man to wrap his arms tightly around his neck. Feeling overwhelmed he sank to the ground, bringing his lover with him. They sat there in silence for several minutes, simply enjoying the feel of being wrapped in each other's arms. Finally Terren pulled back and gave Severus a stern look. The potion master sighed.

"I can't promise it won't happen again. I am not known for my cheery disposition and soft temper but I promise to try."

Terren gave him an understanding smile before his look became concerned and questioning as he gestured towards the door.

"Yes, the brat came and talked to me. We have come to an understanding."

Terren smiled brilliantly again and snuggled back down into Severus' arms. The older man was content to just sit and hold his love. That was, until be felt a tongue and teeth begin working on his neck. His breath hitched as his ear was nibbled on and he could feel heat begin to pool in his groin.

"We're going to be late to dinner if you do not cease this teasing." Severus growled. Terren smirked against his neck before sucking on the spot behind Severus' ear that always drove him wild. With a husky roar Severus pinned Terren to the ground and ravaged the smaller man's mouth.

Dinner went by much too fast for Harry's liking. He was nervous about his first lesson with Snape and the pitying looks he was receiving from his friends weren't helping his nerves any. Eventually deciding he could stall no longer Harry ceased pushing his food around on his plate and left the hall. Draco met him at the doors and together they walked down to the dungeons together.

"There's no need to look like you're walking to your death Harry." Draco attempted to reason. "I mean, you and Uncle Severus have been getting on fine lately." Harry gave a snort of disbelief but didn't say anything.

The two parted ways at Snape's office, Draco giving Harry a sweet kiss before he continued on to the Slytherin common room. Harry stood staring at the office door long after Draco had left, wondering if it would be completely ungryffindorish to run away and hide in his bed. Despite the fact he had apologized to Snape, Harry wasn't entirely sure the man wouldn't try to kill him. He'd definitely have the opportunity during their private lessons. He could probably even make it look like an accident. They were studying the dark arts and defense thereof after all. No one would argue that is wasn't a dangerous pastime and it wouldn't be inconceivable that Harry hadn't managed to put a shield up in time and was felled by a stray curse.

The door opening before him startled Harry out of his musings. Harry looked up to see Terren looking down at him in amusement. 'Would you like to come in or are you planning on staring at the door all evening?' The boy blushed, looking sheepish. Terren gave a silent chuckle and gestured for him to enter. Harry did so and was surprised to find no potions master in sight.

"Where's Snape?"

'Professor Snape, Harry.' Terren corrected. 'And he'll be here in a moment. He just had to get cleaned up a bit.' Harry gave Terren a confused looked as the older man blushed about something but didn't push the issue. Just then Snape walked in dressed casually in loose slacks and a t-shirt, his hair still wet from the shower. Harry couldn't help but stare, even during the family dinners he had never seen the potion master dressed in anything less formal than dress slacks and shirt. Terren just grinned at the boy's shocked expression while Snape rolled his eyes.

"Really Potter, you didn't expect me to run around shooting curses and dodging in my good clothes did you?" The man sneered. Harry blushed but didn't say anything. With a quick spell Snape had his hair tied back, away from his face and he stood before Harry. "You will not be learning anything new today, assuming that is, that you are even capable of such a thing. Instead I shall be testing you on your skill level and seeing just how much you already know. Dumbledore has already informed me of your little defense club last year. I'd like you to begin by making a list of all the spells you went over last year and which ones you managed to perfect."

Harry nodded and sat in the nearest chair, pulling out parchment and quill and began his list. Soft talking distracted Harry from his task. He glanced up to see Terren sitting on Snape's desk, something he was sure the potion master would never allow anyone else to do, and the two of them where having an odd sort of conversation. Snape was the only one talking which wasn't surprising in itself but it seemed that instead of Terren writing as he did for everyone else Snape was reading his body language for Terren's part of the conversation. He hadn't even known that was possible.

After setting Harry to his task he turned to Terren who was now sitting on his desk. He felt a small part of him twitch at the thought but found, surprisingly, that for the most part he didn't care. Cheeky brat, he thought with affection.

"There now, are you satisfied? I told you Potter and I had worked things out, there was no need for you to come supervise us."

Terren gave a small mock-pout.

"Brat, of course I'm not saying I don't want you around. Merely that there was no need for your concern."

Terren smiled brightly. Severus rolled his eyes.

"Spare me your sentimentality. It would not do for me to get sick in front of Potter."

Terren frowned though his eyes shone with amusement.

"There is no way I'll call the boy by his given name."

The elder Potter's eyes took on a pleading look.

"No, not even for you."

Terren frowned again and gestured between the three of them.

"He's not family yet and until then I see no reason to change in how I address him."

Terren just huffed in annoyance before his demeanor took on a seductive tone. Severus was about to respond accordingly when he felt Potter's gaze on him.

"Mr. Potter, I do not believe your eyes need to be anywhere other than on your paper. Unless, of course, you are done already." Severus turned and looked at Harry as he finished speaking. He could see the boy gulp nervously before returning to his list with a hasty "no sir."

Harry couldn't help but wonder, not for the first time, if Snape had eyes in the back of his head. How else could he have known that Harry's thoughts and eyes had strayed? He returned to his lists and finished them quickly. When he looked up again he was spooked to find Snape standing directly in front of him and let out a small, undignified squeak. He could see laughter in Snape's eyes though his face remained blank.

"Finished?" Harry nodded dumbly and watched as Snape read over his parchment. When the man looked up again he had an odd look on his face. "You've mastered all of these spells?" Harry was surprised to hear a grudging respect in his teacher's voice.

"Yes sir, Hermione made sure I knew each spell perfectly before I attempted to teach it to anyone else."

"Very well. For the rest of this lesson I shall be testing your power and endurance with these spells as well as your aptitude. Just because Ms. Granger thinks you are sufficient doesn't mean I will. Now, stand up." Harry spent the next hour and a half throwing curse after hex after jinx after shield. He blocked and cursed and everything in between. By the time Snape finally called the lesson to a finish Harry was sweating and panting as though he had just run a marathon. He couldn't help but feel as little disgruntled as he looked up at Snape who merely looked a little flushed.

Harry was focusing on regaining his breath when a goblet of water appeared before him. He looked up to see Snape standing over him. His face was blank but his eyes were warm. "Here Potter, you look as though you need it." Harry nodded his thanks as he took the goblet and chugged it down greedily. "Next lesson we shall work on physical training as well as some theory. I expect you to dress accordingly and bring supplies for notes."

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now if I'm not mistaken I believe it is Terren's turn." Despite his weariness Harry perked up at this. He was excited to learn the ancient secrets of the mage. Maybe he'd learn how to create thunderstorms or fly without a broom or a spell to turn Voldemort into a slug forever. Terren chuckled at the excitement in Harry's face.

'I'm afraid my lesson won't be as exciting as Severus's was. To begin with I want to test your power.'

"Isn't that what Sn- Professor Snape just did?" Asked Harry, feeling confused.

'Not quite. Severus tested your power level with certain spells as well as your endurance. I will be seeing how much power you possess in total.'

"I'm not sure I understand." Terren looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling at Harry.

'Every wizard is born with a magical core. This core contains all the magic a wizard will ever possess and the size of the core determines how powerful a wizard is. People like Severus and Dumbledore have very large magical cores while squibs have very small, almost non-existent ones.'

"Wait, so squibs have magical cores?"

'Yes, it is what allows them to see magical items such as dementors and the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron but they are so small that squibs cannot actually do any magic.'

"But couldn't they find ways to strengthen their magical cores? To gain more magic like Voldemort does?" Harry missed Snape's small shudder at the sound of Voldemort's name.

'That's not how magical cores work. You cannot add to them or strengthen them. People are born with the total amount of magic they will ever have. It neither grows nor lessons as they age.'

"But what about Voldemort then? Hasn't he been spending his life gaining more power?"

'Yes and no. Not understanding the nature of magic, he has tried many dark rituals in order to increase his magical core but all they have accomplished is the deterioration of his body and mind. However, there are ways to temporarily increase your power by siphoning off power things around you. The very powerful can even draw power from the Earth herself but that's a secret the mages guard closely. Voldemort knew this, it is part of the reason he held me prisoner. There are also a few dark rituals that allow one to steal another's power. Voldemort uses one such method with his death eaters.'

"Really?" Harry asked, this time looking to Snape for confirmation. Snape sighed but nodded.

"He can siphon off his follower's magic through the dark mark. Fortunately the human body cannot store excess magic which means the Dark Lord only takes magic when he needs it directly." Harry stared at Snape in horror.

"That's horrible!" Snape nodded, staring down at his left arm.

"If I had known…" He trailed off, lost in his thoughts and memories. "A person's magic is sacred. Only the darkest of magics would allow such a thing."

'But we have gone off topic." Terren interrupted, not liking the direction the conversation had gone. 'We will not worry about such things for now. Right now I merely want to take a reading of your power level. This is important because certain types of magic require the user to be at a certain level, power-wise and I'll need to know what types you can and cannot use so I can teach you accordingly.'

"So how do we do this?"

'It's really rather simple. I merely need you to hold on to this stone with your right hand and say the incantation "'r yn golygu 'n fywydol ydy baeol".'

"That doesn't sound Latin." Harry questioned as he looked over the stone Terren had handed him. It looked like a large milky opal.

'That's because it isn't. This particular spell was invented Wales.' Harry nodded and then repeated the words though he had some trouble and stumbled over the pronunciation. Despite this, as soon as the words were out of Harry's mouth the stone began to glow, shimmering a rainbow of colors as the light increased in intensity. Suddenly if flashed a blinding green light, not much different from the color of the killing curse. Harry yipped as the stone burned his hand and eyes, dropping it to the floor. As soon as he let go, the light died and all stared at the stone in shock. Terren was the first to recover. Slowly he leaned over and picked up the milky stone, which now bore a thick green vein down the center. Harry sat tensed in his seat, certain that something had gone wrong until Terren flashed him a bright smile.

'Brilliant Harry. Well, I have the all the information I need but I do have some homework for you.' He gestured towards Snape's desk where Harry noticed two ancient looking books sitting for the first time. 'I want you two read those two books; they're on wandless and wordless magic respectively. While they won't teach you either I feel it's important to understand the theory before attempting any new branch of magic. I expect you to have the first three chapters of each book read by our next lesson on Wednesday.' Harry did not look thrilled at the idea but nodded his understanding and acceptance anyways. He stood up and gave Terren a warm hug before grabbing the books and turning to leave.

"A minute if you would Mr. Potter." Harry stopped and turned back towards Snape. "I will mention this to Draco tomorrow as well but I wanted to make it clear that I expect you for dinner come Sunday. This will be the first time the entire family will be together after all." As strange as it was to hear Snape refer to him as family he couldn't stop the foolish grin that took over his face. Harry didn't remember much of the trip back up to Gryffindor Tower but he was sure he was still grinning like a loon when he arrived if his friend's looks were anything to go by.

Back in the classroom Terren nearly tackled Severus as soon as the door shut behind Harry. The usually stoic potions master couldn't help but smile as Terren covered his face in excited kisses. "Yes, yes. I thought you'd enjoy that. Now stop jumping all over me like some overexcited dog." Eventually he managed to get the younger man off him and they moved to walk back to their quarters when a thought stopped Snape.

"Am I mistaken that the incantation you gave Potter translates roughly to 'the meaning of life is bucket'?" Terren laughed and nodded, his eyes shinning in humor.

"It is!" Severus chuckling with Terren at the absurdity. "That's not really a spell is it?"

The younger man shook his head.

"Then why have him say it?"

Terren gave a small shrug before words appeared before Severus. 'I needed him to focus on his magic without actually using a spell. Since he is untrained in meditation the easiest way of doing this is by giving him a fake spell to use as focus.' Severus smirked.

"And why 'the meaning of life is bucket'?"

Terren shrugged again. 'It's what my master always used. He had a thing for buckets.'

A/N: WOO HOO!!! After months of nothing my muse finally showed up and bit me. I wrote almost this entire chapter in one sitting. I will try really hard not to go so long again in between updates. Thank you to all of you who sent me reviews and encouraged me to hurry up and post. A special thanks to my Jacque Vegan who helped inspire me while I was in my rut.

A/N 2 (technically 3 if you count the one at the beginning of the chapter: So I thought I'd take a moment and actually used an author's note to talk about the story (le gasp!). As you can see things are back to good in the world. My friend Jacque really wanted me to make the whole argument thing long and drawn out and had some really good reasons for doing so but I've never been much one for angst and therefore don't really know how to write it. Besides, I'm a fairy tale girl… I like my happy endings. Not that this is an ending yet but it pains me to make my characters (or Rowling's characters, whatever) in pain. Also, you'll notice there was a big discussion on magic. To be honest I hadn't really planned that, it just came to me while writing but I really liked it. I've gotten tired of reading fics where Harry comes into his magical majority or whatever and is suddenly super powerful and whatnot. Rowling never mentions any such thing in her books, besides, I like the idea that Voldemort has been wasting his time searching for ways to increase his power when all he's doing is further twisting his mind, body, and soul. I'll explain more about Harry's magic level and what the light meant. Also, we'll get to see the first family dinner with everyone in the next chapter. Please review and leave me comments, critiques, suggestions, a hello, or whatever. I love to hear from you guys, it brings me warm fuzzies.

A/N 3: One last thing. I'm trying to plan out the next several chapters, that way there won't be anymore long waits between chapters. What is your guys' opinion of m-preg? Is there anything you'd like to see in the story? Please let me know, it would really be a big help and also ensure that you got updates faster.