Severus woke to the smell of Harry invading his nostrils, he pulled Harry tighter against him and breathed in his scent only a few more times before Harry began to stir and rub his eyes.

"Good morning, Harry."

"Morning, Sev" Harry said looking up at the man and smiling

"Sev?" the man asked smirking

"Well, it is either that or Puddin', your pick." Harry said as a look of horror washed over Snape's face.

"Sev will be just fine; just don't call me that in public." Harry giggled and kissed the older man.

"I like waking up like this" Harry confessed

"As do I, you smell wonderful." Severus said

"Sev, I probably smell like healing salve." Harry said condescendingly

"Perhaps, a bit, but under that, you have an intoxicating scent, it smells like a fresh spring rain mixed with fresh apples." Harry giggled at the older man's confession

"I'm not entirely sure how you determined that, but I suppose I could always smell worse." Harry said laughing.

"Indeed. This big nose comes in handy for something."

"Your nose isn't big." Harry said chastising, as Severus looked at him with a raised eyebrow

"Ok, maybe a bit, but I think it's perfect." Harry said as he landed a peck on the older man's nose, before nuzzling into his neck. "Sandalwood and Cardamom." Harry stated plainly

"What?"

"That's what you smell like, Sandalwood and Cardamom. Spicy yet gentle." Harry said as Severus flashed him a smile.

"Harry, I wanted to thank you for standing up for me to Remus. You are only the third person in my life to do something like that for me."

"Of course, Severus, in fact, we will probably have a lot of opposition like that so you'd better get used to it. After all, I'm a rather defensive Gryffindor." Harry said smiling. "Who were the others?"

"Your mother, back when we were at Hogwarts."

"And the second?" Harry wondered, knowing what had transpired between his parents and Snape, since Albus had told him after the pensieve fiasco. But he wondered who the third would be.

"Lucius Malfoy."

"Malfoy Sr.?!"

"Yes. We have been friends since our Hogwarts days."

"Wow. Ok, I didn't know that. I thought you were only pretending to be friends with him because of your spy status." Harry confessed looking at Snape.

"No, he is my best friend, one of the few. His wife and Draco are like family to me."

"Oh, ok."

"What wrong?" Snape asked taking in the look of fear on the young man's face.

"He's going to kill me when he finds out about us, isn't he?" Harry asked seriously.

"Harry, no one will lay a finger on you, I won't allow it. He is actually a spy for the light side. Now don't get me wrong, he is still the pompous pure-blood that he always was, but shortly after I turned spy, he confessed how he hated being a Death Eater and I scheduled a meeting between him and Dumbledore. He's been on the light side ever since."

"Oh, well that's good to know, actually. But I was thinking less about the Boy-Who-Lived aspect, and more about the 'I'm in a relationship with his best friend' aspect." Harry confessed as Severus burst out in laughter.

"No, I think you will be safe." Severus felt Harry relax in his arms. "But I have a favor to ask."

"Anything."

"Will you try and get along with my Godson?"

"Draco?" Harry looked up at Severus to see his affirming nod.

"He's going through a rather…difficult period in his life right now. He could use, as much as I dread saying it, someone outside of Slytherin to befriend." Severus let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding when he felt Harry nod

"I will try, but 5 years is a lot of history to go through, so it could be a while before he trusts me."

"That is why I'm simply asking for you to try."

"I will do my best." Harry said grunting as he tried to sit up.

"Harry, what did the Boggart mean when it was talking about you finally jumping out of a tower?" Harry stiffened, eyes growing wide. Harry had hoped that Severus had not heard anything that the Boggart said. "What did he mean Harry?" Snape's voice gently demanded "Have you been thinking about jumping to your death? Have you thought about it? About suicide? Is that what it was talking about? Answer me."

Harry's hands tightly gripped the quilt, nearly shaking. "Yes"

"Yes to what?" Snape dared to ask, afraid of the answer

"All of your questions-yes, I thought of suicide, quite a lot actually. I haven't been thinking about it since I began your potions lessons, I've been much too happy lately for that, but yes, suicidal thoughts are something that I often struggle with."

"But…why?" Severus asked, as he swallowed down the bile that threatened to rise. Harry rose to his feet and walked towards the window, where sun poured in and surrounded him in a beautiful yellow light.

"Have you ever gone to the Astronomy tower at night, Severus?" Harry asked over his shoulder

"I'm afraid that I cannot say that I have."

"That's unfortunate. The view of the stars from those windows is simply…breathtaking. They are so bright, so big, and so beautiful. Looking at something as massive as the sky, and thinking about all the galaxies and solar systems beyond, well, it makes you feel…small. It makes you know that you are small, that nothing you do really matters in the big picture. I felt like this a lot after Sirius died, and to some extent, I still feel it today. I know that killing Voldemort will have a big impact in the Wizarding world, even if it will only be a mild speck to the rest of the galaxy. But as horrible as this sounds, I don't care about all the innocent lives as much as I should, as much as I did when I was much younger. The only thing I care about anymore is the people I love, and if killing Voldemort is the only way to ensure their safety, then I will do it. I will protect you, Ron and Hermione, all the Weasley's, Remus and Dumbledore. They are all my friends, and I would do anything for them. But Sirius, when he died, I didn't lose a friend, Severus, I lost a life. I lost the life of happiness that I could have had living in a cottage with him 'til we grew old, I lost the chance to have someone my parents loved watch over me, I lost the chance to have someone beside me when I fought the monster who killed my parents, I lost a part of me, because I knew that no matter what, he would accept me. Even now, despite what Remus says, I know that he could be happy for me, for us. I lost my mother and father years ago Severus, but when Sirius died, when he fell through that veil, after Bellatrix stole him from me…he was like a father to me and I a son, to him, I lost the only family I cared for. I was alone. My whole world was turned upside-down, everything bright was shrouded in darkness, and for a long time I forgot what happiness felt like. So yes, I considered jumping to my death from those windows many times, though now, since I have you, I am happy that I was too cowardly to jump from them." Harry looked back at Severus, eyes brimming with tears, tracks of liquid streaking his cheeks, hands clenched in fists, yet his shoulder tilted downward in sadness. Severus walked over to him and wiped his cheeks as Harry managed a small smile.

"Did you ever think that you didn't jump because you are not a coward?" Severus said looking in his bright green eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"It's easy to die, but it is so much harder to live. Perhaps the reason you did not jump was bravery, you were brave enough not to jump because you knew that there was something worth living for?"

"Like you?" harry asked

"Like my love for you. I love you, Harry. Everything that Boggart said was a lie, so many people love you. But remember that most importantly, I love you. I have only been dating you a day, and already, I can't imagine my life without you. You have opened a part of me that has been dead for a very long time. You saved me from a life of believing that no one could ever love me."

"I love you too, Severus" Harry said as he brought his lips up to meet his love's, kissing passionately until both broke away

"Why don't you go get a hot bath and relax, Albus wanted to speak to you this morning. I have an errand to run, but I will be back shortly." Severus said.

"Alright." Harry replied making his way to the large bathroom.

"Harry!" Dumbledore greeted as the young man walked into the office and removed his glamour "It's great to see you. I'm so glad that you are looking better. Sit, sit." Harry sat in the plush chair in front of the Headmaster's desk as Albus called a house elf for tea and breakfast scones. "Now, Harry, I wanted to talk to you about something important." Albus said looking serious

"Of course." Harry said indicating that he allowed the old man to continue.

"Harry, if I may admit, last night terrified me. I was so worried about you, that it took all my will power to listen to Ms. Granger's story before running down to see to you myself. Severus agrees with a decision that I have made."

"What is that, sir?"

"That the Room of Requirements will no longer be available to you as training grounds."

"But I have to train to defeat Voldemort!" Harry shouted from his chair as Albus put up a hand to stop his tirade.

"I know, and I am not discouraging any training that you may believe that you need, far from it, I am simply requiring you to train with Severus from now on. Anytime, day or night, that you need to deal with emotion, or to simply practice spells, you will go to him. He has agreed to this arrangement and has given you entry to his rooms."

"I suppose that is understandable." Harry said looking down admitting defeat.

"Harry, before you leave, I want you to understand something. You have many friends, all of them love you and care for you deeply, not one of them, not one, will be disappointed if for some reason, you cannot defeat Voldemort. So please, do not push yourself so hard. Though at any rate, a certain Potions Master tells me that you could probably do it without straining yourself too hard." Albus finished looking downward at Harry over his spectacles as his eyes twinkled furiously.

"Severus said that?" Harry asked surprised

"Indeed, though I believe his exact words were 'Thank Merlin that Harry is on the side of the Light. If he were to ever go dark, he could have the world wrapped around his finger before we even knew it. He is so powerful; he could defeat the Dark Lord without breaking a sweat.' Though I would appreciate if you did not tell him of my informing you to his wisdom; I do not desire to have the bodily harm that Severus threatened befall me." Albus finished with a laugh.

"Albus that doesn't make sense, Voldemort is the second most powerful wizard alive, it would be impossible to beat him so effortlessly." Harry said still mentally laughing at the Headmaster's last words.

"Harry, how long were you training in that room?" Albus asked hoping that Harry would prove his point.

"Maybe an hour after dinner ended all the way up until Severus saved me apparently."

"I see, so for about say two and a half to three hours? And were you training the whole time? Using magic and spells the entire time?"

"Yes, sir but I don't see what that has to do with anything." Albus smiled at him

"It has everything to do with everything. You were using advanced magic, Harry. At least that is what I could gather from Severus, once he finished being in awe of your power and skill. Power at that level, Harry, drains a wizard very quickly, especially if some of the magic is wandless. A normal witch or wizard, after casting the spells that you did, that is assuming they could do them, would go unconscious from Magical Exhaustion after only a short amount of time. Even a fully-trained and advanced wizard could have lasted no more than an hour and a half, at the most. Harry, you have so much power, and yet you continue to underestimate your abilities."

"What do you mean, sir?" harry asked, wondering exactly where the old man's tangent was going.

"I think, Harry, that while you have spent so much time training to beat Voldemort, you have surpassed him in power. After our confrontation at the Ministry of Magic, Severus informed me that Voldemort had to rest for an entire day before he could perform any high level spells again, and we only battled for around thirty minutes. I do believe Harry, that you could defeat Voldemort, without any more training. So please, don't push yourself so hard."

"Alright. I'm sorry to worry all of you."

"We were quite worried, but I'm glad that you are alright"

"Thank you, sir. I'd better return to the infirmary for my final checkup, I don't want Madam Pomfrey to find out that I've been wandering off while she's at lunch." Harry said before retreating from the old man's office.

"Indeed." laughed Dumbledore "That could be quite detrimental to one's health."

Remus held the note in his hands that Severus had owled him earlier that day,

"Mr. Lupin,

Meet me in my office after your fourth class and before lunch. My portrait will let you in.

Severus Snape"

Remus looked at the portrait in front of him and felt a sort of fear creep into his body, like a chill infecting him, as the portrait swung aside and bid him entrance.

"Severus?" Remus called out as he walked towards the chair in the middle of the room and sat down, wondering what the small table in front of him was for. He didn't have to ponder long, because Severus came out of the shadows and swooped down upon Remus like a hawk. He has his best scowl on, one he reserved only for 'fellow' Death Eaters. His top of his cloak billowed from him, making him appear bigger than he was as he circled Remus. Severus could see the lightest sheen of sweat beginning to appear on his prey's brow, and smiled inwardly at the thought of Remus being nervous because of him. Severus paused in front of the table looking at the man,

"I had a hard time deciding what to do with you, Mr. Lupin. Though, you should know that your gratitude lies solely with the Headmaster, who demanded that you be intact and alive for teaching. Were it up to me, you would be trapped in a silver coffin" Severus pounded his hands on the table and grinned when Remus reacted with a startling jump. "Ten feet below the surface of an abandoned field!"

"Severus,-" Remus began to say before he was cut off

"For a small amount of time I considered exercising my proficiency with the unforgivables. Though I do not wish to incur Harry's wrath, for he somehow, still cares for you." Severus turned around and retrieved something from a large cabinet. "Though I must say Remus, you have surpassed even James and Black himself. Even as children, when they would torment the other students, they never sunk as low as you did yesterday. I rather hope you are ashamed of yourself." Severus said as he set a large intricate bowl on the table. "You see, for several hours, I was thinking about all of the potions I had in store that would not only put you through excruciating pain, but also hide any evidence that I had done so. Finally, I decided that instead of doing anything to you, I would show you exactly what you did. Show you how much you upset the man I care for."

"I care for him as well Severus!" Remus retorted

"Then you may wish to reevaluate your way of displaying it! But for now, I am going to take you into my memory." Severus said the incantation and pulled the whispery silver strand from his temple and cast it into the pensieve. "You are about to witness the events that occurred because of the idiotic words you spouted out of your mouth without thinking" Severus grabbed Remus' forearm and pulled him into the memory where they stood watching and anxious Snape talk to Ms. Granger.

"About three hours ago Harry stormed out of my office after a rather…difficult discussion with Mr. Lupin. He told me that he would send word yet he has not done so. I was hoping that you would know his whereabouts. I have walked the castle and grounds twice and have yet to locate him."

Severus guided Remus as the memory of Hermione and Snape played out before them.

"What do you mean? Is he in danger?" Snape's worry evident on his face

"Only from himself. Sometimes he trains so hard he works himself to exhaustion." Hermione began. "But when he trains under anger or worry, well, he pushes himself too far. When Sirius died a few years back, he made the dummies, which were only able to perform low level spells before for the DA, able to perform more complicated spells."

"What kind of spells?" Snape said walking past the roving staircase.

"Well, I talked to him once after I watched him train. He said that in the final battle he would be up against Death Eaters and that would not be using low level spells. He requires the dummies to be powerful; they can perform all but the Killing Curse. He replaces the Killing curse with the Cruciatus Curse; so, if he is hit with that particular curse, then he knows that in real life, he would have been killed. He hasn't had to use the room to control his emotions for quite some time; in fact he only trains once a week any more. Not even his nightmares are bothering him as much."

Remus' face fell upon hearing that, Severus noticed, the thought about how much more ill Remus would look before the memory was over

"We are almost there, when you go in, take these." Hermione handed Severus a small pouch. "There are strong pain relief potions, Blood replenishing potions, Draught of Peace for anxiety, antidotes for petrification, as well as some Skele-Gro, antidotes and slaves for burns, cuts, and bruises, and a small bottle of Nerve Replenishing Potion in case of emergency."

"Where did you get all of these?" Snape asked

"I brewed them myself."

"And he would need nerve repair potions for…?" Snape asked curious as he put the pouch in his pocket.

"Surely, Professor, you are aware of the long term effects of the Cruciatus curse?" Hermione asked

"But nerve damage only occurs after more than ten minutes exposure!" Snape nearly yelled

"I know, but I have had to use them on more than one occasion. Now let's go. " Hermione said as she crossed the corridor and walked back and forth until a door appeared. "Orion" She cast a silencing spell before peeking through a small hole in the door.

"What are you doing? We don't have time for this-" Severus urged

"We have to make sure he is at a stopping point, or he could get startled and hit us with a hex." Hermione said before looking in. "He is training to music right now, he should be done in a few minutes, and then you can go in when it is safe-"

"I am not a child, Ms. Granger. I am quite proficient in defense." Snape said before pulling the door open.

Severus watched the looks on Remus' face as he watched Harry fight, stepping forward to help him before remembering that this was a memory, and that all of this has already occurred.

Harry threw his wand in the air and yelled, thrusting his hands out to the side as if pushing the enemies away, as they all became engulfed in a large ball of flame, instantly turning to ash and falling to the ground around a panting Harry. The anger in his eyes apparent as he cast a last hex to the one remaining dummy as the song ended, but Harry's eyes went wide as the dummy dodged and he hex hit a box behind. Harry stormed over to the dummy that remained still as Harry thrust his wand into his throat; Harry prepared to cast a spell as the Boggart flew out of the box and behind Harry taking the form of Sirius

Remus watched on as Severus sprinted full speed to Harry, not stopping, he watched as the Boggart disguised as Sirius walked up behind Harry and put his hands on his shoulder, he watched.

"Are you afraid Harry? Afraid of one of the few people who cared for you, afraid of the man you killed?"

Harry reeled back and faced the all-too-realistic likeness of Sirius. "I didn't kill you!" Harry shouted

Sirius' face took on an evil expression of pure anger. "YOU LET ME DIE! THAT'S EVEN WORSE! I'M DEAD! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU WORTHLESS BOY!"

"I didn't mean too! I never wanted you to die!"Harry screamed

"It's too late for apologies! I only hope that one of these days, a weakling like you, will finally gain the courage to finally jump out of that tower, once and for all!"

Harry fell to his knees in shock, not seeing the dummy behind him cast a Cruciatus Curse at his back.

Panic flowed in Remus' veins as he looked over to see Severus disarm and banish the dummy, still running to Harry.

Harry writhed on the floor, jerking in pain, as he heard shouts from above him. "No one wants you! Your uncle didn't want you, your aunt, even your own parents. Hell, you are dumber than you thought if you think that Severus could possibly love something as disgusting as you. Your uncle was right; you deserved every beating, every hurtful word. You deserved it all!" The Boggart laughed as Harry gave into the darkness surrounding him; Harry barely heard the loud "Riddikulus" cast by Severus as his eyes fell closed.

Remus watched as the Boggart's words echoed in his head, tears ran down his cheek, he covered his mouth with his hand to keep from sobbing out loud at the sight in front of him.

Snape pulled Harry into his arms as he fished the pouch from his pocket pulling out the necessary vials. He brought them to the young man's lips, one by one, massaging his throat to make the potions go down. Severus pulled Harry close against his chest as he rocked back and forth, petting the soft black hair and whispering confirmations in the young man's ear.

"It's going to be okay, Harry. Everything will be all right. I love you; we can get through this…"

Like Hermione, Remus watched as Severus rocked Harry back and forth, not moving him until the potions could take effect. He watched as the Potions Master spoke kind, loving, caring words of comfort to Harry.

"Professor, Harry keeps his invisibility cloak in his right pocket. Cover yourself and take him to Madam Pomfrey. I will tell the Headmaster what happened."

Remus, like the smart witch, noticed the tears sliding down Severus' face. He looked over at Severus and noticed that he was not crying this time; he instead wore a harsh look of determination, and then Severus turned to look at him as the tears flowed down the tawny haired man's face. And for the first time, Remus begged Severus

"Please, Severus. No more, don't make me watch anymore. I had no idea!"

"You knew that your words would hurt Harry, you hoped that he would give up his relationship with me because you were uncomfortable with it. But, it looks like you were wrong, because neither one of us is going anywhere. Unlike you, I am willing to pick up the pieces after he breaks, and I am patient enough to make sure that he smiles again, after he is put back together."

"I have helped Harry in the past Severus, whether or not you believe it."

"You may have helped, but did you offer your help and support when he needed it most?"

"I offered it every time he hurt."

"I would argue differently."

"And what proof do you have of that? These unfounded accusations." Remus sputtered, angered that the man in front of him accuse him of such things.

"Unfortunately, they are not at all unfounded." Severus said as the scenery of the infirmary rushed around them and a scene from a few hours ago appeared before both men.

Remus watched as Severus asked about what the Boggart said, he watched as Harry confessed that he though of suicide after Sirius' death, Remus cried out loud as he heard Harry say everything about the Dark Lord and about how lonely he felt. Remus realized that, even if he felt like he was there, he never really was when he needed to be. Remus fell to his knees crying, and found himself like that when Severus pulled him out of the memory.

"Severus, I have to go apologize to him, I have to beg his forgiveness." Severus smirked at the absolute brokenness of the man in front of him.

"Indeed, though I would give Harry some space right now. He needs some time to think. And Remus, if you ever hurt Harry like that again, not even the Dark Lord himself could keep me from burying you." Severus said as he walked Remus out of the room and slammed the door, leaving the man crying in the hallway.

There you have it folks! The long awaited chapter. I thought about punishing Remus in all the ways that Severus did, but knew that Harry would never forgive him, so I had Snape torment him by showing Remus just how much pain he caused Harry. I believe that it was the best way. It may be a while before the next chapter is up. because A.) I have to write it B.) I'm writing tons of papers and studying for the end of school and C.) My husband and I are spending almost all of our spare time moving into our first place. Which is quite exciting since we have been living with friends up until t his point. We will be moved in shortly before our 1 year anniversary in July. Yay!

Also, as a reader pointed out, yes the characters are somewhat out of character. Though i try my best to explain this, or plan on explaining it in future chapters, just note that they will not be exactly like the books because I am not J.K.R.

Hopefully, I did an alright job writing Albus.

Thank You for reading! As always- i love nice reviews!

XOXO Blossoming Nightshade