Chapter 11

The afternoon passed quickly for Harry as he and his friends messed around outside. It only took minutes for Harry to forget the meeting with Dumbledore and Snape as they played their regular game of Quidditch, and Hermione was even starting to join in for a bit longer each time and was starting to referee.

Sooner than the other teens wanted, Sirius came outside and called them to the ground. It was a race to the earth, which Harry won.

"Come on, you lot. It's not safe to be out here so late, and besides, it's dinner time, so you guys need to be getting inside," Harry's godfather reminded them.

The Gryffindors all grumbled as they made their way to the castle. Harry walked with Sirius. Apparently he was doing some work for Dumbledore, which is why he hadn't been out to see the teens. Of course he wouldn't say what it was that he had been working on, but he was done for the time being.

Harry didn't mention staying with Snape, or any of the stuff that happened the previous night. He didn't want to upset his godfather, as he knew how he felt about Snape. They talked about nothing of importance as the group made their way back into the castle and into the Great Hall for the last meal of the day. As the group chatted away, they all sat down at the Gryffindor table, Sirius included. Remus joined them shortly after and sat next to his best friend. Harry was having such a great time with his friends and family that he totally missed Dumbledore come into the room and walk past them. Only after they were almost finished eating and he caught Ginny's eye did she point out what he missed.

Harry's eyes locked with the Headmaster's when he looked up. He quickly looked away, afraid that the professor would ask him to go back to Snape, or worse, try to access his mind again and get the answer to the question he refused to answer. He had to start practicing again or else he would lose everything that he had gained during the summer. In all the excitement, his Occlumency practice had taken a back seat to life, and that needed to stop. Though it was going to be a bit more difficult when he couldn't close his eyes for more than a few seconds, but he would still do it.

Thankfully, Dumbledore didn't call Harry back to the Infirmary, nor did he feel the penetration of his mind. Harry had to sigh in relief that he made it through dinner without incident. He did start to wonder, however, how Professor Snape was healing from the curses that he had been exposed to. Harry sighed, for all his avoiding of the man, he would probably go see the Headmaster to check on his Potions Master's progress.

Apparently Hermione noticed his look up to the Head Table and looked for herself. "Hey, guys, where's Professor Snape?"

Harry froze. He knew exactly where Snape was, but he wasn't going to tell his friends that.

Ron looked up momentarily and then looked back down, obviously not caring in the least, which sent a wave of indignation on his professor's behalf through him. "Dunno. Who cares?"

Harry had to keep his eyes on his almost empty plate to keep from sending the glare that he so desperately wanted to send at his best friend. Only when he knew that he had his emotions under control, did he look back up, and Ginny caught his eye. He saw the same feelings of anger in her eyes that he felt himself.

"Ron! You should care! He's helping the Order in the most dangerous position there is, how dare you! Just because he's not nice to us in class, I swear…" she couldn't finish her statement because she was so angry. Harry had to hide a smile; his sentiments exactly.

Ginny shared that smile and made a small motion toward the exit of the Great Hall and Harry had to agree. He stood. "Hey guys, Ginny and I are gonna go for a quick walk. We'll see you back in the Common Room."

Taking Ginny's hand, he heard the goodbyes of his friends, and walked out toward the grounds. They didn't say anything for a while, just enjoying each others company until they got to the lake. The setting sun made the temperature more bearable than the earlier heat infested Quidditch match in the afternoon sun. Knowing that it would soon be dark and the adults in the castle behind them would have theirbehinds if they stayed out too long, made them stop short and just sit by the lake. Ginny was the first to break the companionable silence.

"So, how's Snape doing?"

Harry turned to see Ginny looking at him expectantly. "He's all right, I guess. I didn't stay too long."

"Really? Why not?" Ginny asked, confused.

Harry grimaced. "Well, Snape didn't believe that I meant what I had been saying. So, I knew there was only one way he would believe me…" he paused, looking out at the last dwindling rays of sunlight above the trees of the Forbidden Forest. "I let him see what happened," he said with a bit of an apology in his voice.

"Oh," he heard Ginny say. After a moment of silence she continued, "What happened after that?"

Harry shook his head to get the memories of Snape's torture from his mind. "He tried to see what happened through my eyes."

"What?"

"Yeah."

"No, I mean, what are you talking about?"

Harry turned to see a confused look in Ginny's eyes. He listened back to what he said and realized where she became confused. "He wanted to see what I saw last night."

Ginny's eyes widened when she realized what the professor had been asking. "Oh."

Harry chuckled. "Yeah." Harry sighed as he saw the remaining light from the sun fading quickly as darkness overtook the sky. "We'd better go in before Sirius comes out to yell at us again, or worse, Dumbledore."

Ginny nodded in understanding, and took Harry's offered hand when he stood. They made their way, hand in hand, back to the castle.

As they made their way back to their dorm, the couple were quiet. Suddenly Ginny broke the silence. "Are you still worried?"

Harry smiled. How could she tell? "A bit."

"Then why don't you go by and see him?" she asked realistically.

Harry sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. "Because I don't want to get into that situation again. I can't."

Ginny squeezed his hand in understanding. "I know you can't, but it can't hurt to just go by while he's sleeping and check on him, can it?"

Harry smiled, but then came to his senses. "Well, there's only one problem with that, what if he wakes up? I mean, being a spy, he probably is a light sleeper…"

Ginny smiled. "Well, yes, but that's what your invisibility cloak is for."

It took Harry a moment to realize that he had been incredibly stupid. He laughed. "You're right, I guess it couldn't hurt."

Ginny smiled. "Say that again? I didn't quite hear that first part."

Harry returned the smile and said again, "You were right." And gave her a quick kiss as they made it to the Fat Lady, gave the password, and entered the common room.

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Harry was exhausted. He could barely keep his eyes open laying in his four poster bed waiting for Ron to go to sleep. The twins were in their old dorm, leaving Harry and Ron to have their dorm all to themselves. Harry was happy about this, as it made it much easier to sneak out since there was only one pair of eyes to worry about. About an hour after they had climbed into bed, Harry looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was after eleven and he had heard Ron start his light snoring.

Harry let out a breath in relief. Finally! he thought, as he quietly got out of his bed and pulled the curtains around as silently as he could. He then grabbed his wand and opened the trunk at the foot of his bed. Quickly finding his invisibility cloak, Harry closed the lid and rushed to put the cloak on, just in case the red-head woke up. Once concealed, Harry made his way silently down the stairs, into the common room, and out into the hallway. Knowing that sleep would not be something that he wanted, or would be getting tonight, he took his time, figuring that Snape was already asleep and he wouldn't be missing anything if he ran straight to the Hospital Wing.

After a few minutes of quiet walking, not wanting to be heard by Filch or Mrs. Norris, he was in front of the door that stood in the way of himself and the inside of the Infirmary. And Professor Snape. Harry took a deep breath and as slowly as he dared, and as quietly as he could, he turned the handle and opened the door a crack to hear voices floating toward him. He froze when he recognized the voices of the Headmaster and Potions Master.

"Poppy says that you'll be out of here in a matter of days, Severus. You're healing quite well."

"Great, I can't wait to get out of here and out from under that infernal woman's fussing," he heard Snape say harshly.

Harry smiled and nodded, he knew exactly how Snape was feeling. He hated the Hospital Wing himself, because he knew if he entered there, he would be a long time in coming out. Only when the Mediwitch was satisfied would he see the hallways of Hogwarts again.

"She's just making sure that you are healthy before you go running around your potions lab," Dumbledore said, taking Harry from his thoughts and concentrating once again on what the men were saying. This was the best way to find out how the man was doing without even having to see him; Ginny was amazing.

"I feel fine, Albus. And I have a lot of work to do. It is just a waste of time for me to lie around in this bed doing absolutely nothing for three more days."

Harry heard Dumbledore chuckle. "Maybe she will let you out early on good behavior, hm?"

Harry had to stifle his own laugh before the two men heard him. He knew he would have to leave soon, he was pushing his luck already as it was. But he wanted to know what was going on.

"I can only hope."

There was silence from the Infirmary for a while, long enough to make Harry think that he had better be going. But before he could move a step, his luck finally ran out.

"Eavesdropping again are we?"

Harry cringed. How did Dumbledore do that? He hoped that the man was just guessing and decided to make a break for it. But as he had feared, his luck only stayed with him for so long and wouldn't give him another break.

"Harry, I know you're there. Don't even try. Come in."

Harry wondered if he dared to go against the Headmaster's direct orders, even if he did sound as if he was in a good mood, but it only took a moment for him to realize that he had to pick his battles. And this wasn't it. He sighed as he opened the door to the Infirmary and saw Dumbledore's knowing smile and Snape's stoic look. He wondered just how much trouble he was actually in. Seeing the moving eyes of the Headmaster, he remembered that they couldn't see him. Taking a deep breath, he sighed, realizing that he had to face them sooner or later, and he didn't know how much patience that the men had. So, throwing caution to the wind, he took off his cloak and balled it up and pressed it against his stomach, as if it could protect him from the conversation that was about to happen.

"Harry, why don't you come sit down?" Dumbledore asked. Harry looked around for a chair, but found none. He was about to ask where he was suppose to sit, when Dumbledore made a lovely blue armchair appear near the right end of Snape's bed.

Harry sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be getting out of this, so he kept his eyes to the floor as he made his way to the chair and sat down. He looked up to see Dumbledore still smiling at him. "What?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "What are you doing out of bed at this time of night?"

Harry kept eye contact with Dumbledore but was very aware of the other man still in his peripheral vision. "I just wanted to come by and check to see if everything was okay."

The sparkle in Dumbledore's eyes seemed to grow brighter as he took the meaning of the words from his statement. "Everything?"

Harry could have throttled the man. "Yes, everything."

"What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"Oh, you know exactly what I mean, Headmaster. Don't act like you don't." Harry's patience was waning. His lack of a good night sleep the previous night, and a promise of a sleepless night tonight, was making his snappy.

Dumbledore's sparkle turned into concern. Harry had to watch himself if he didn't want to Headmaster to know just how much that vision had affected him. He didn't need the Potions Master to stop hating him just out of pity. He wanted to gain the man's respect, something he hadn't had since before his first day of class.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap," he said quietly, before turning his eyes to the ceiling. Normally he would have just closed his eyes to get away from the prying ones of the Headmaster, but that wasn't exactly something he could do at this moment without alerting the older wizard that something was wrong.

The concern that Harry saw in Dumbledore's eyes didn't dim. He knew that the man was probably reading his every move and body language. "So, how are you doing, sir?" Harry asked, turning his attention to Snape, hoping to get the calculating look out of Dumbledore's eyes.

"I'm quite all right, Potter."

Harry could have sighed once more, but refrained. The professor still didn't believe him, and the only way he would believe him was if Harry allowed Snape to see his memories of the vision. That was not something he was too keen on doing at the moment.

"That's good then."

Harry was starting to feel uncomfortable under the steady stare of the Headmaster. And his eyes returned to the ceiling. He wished more than anything that he could close his eyes and go to sleep, or at least melt into the armchair away from the two men in the room. But, again, he had no luck.

"Harry what's wrong?"

Harry's eyes met those of the Headmasters once again, but instead of concern, he saw the recognition that something was not right. Great.

"Nothing, sir. Why do you ask?"

"You're not acting like yourself. Did you get enough sleep last night?"

Harry had to stop himself from reacting to the statement. No, he hadn't gotten enough sleep the previous night. He had gone to bed only to have the vision, run half the length of the castle, twice, relive the entire thing back to the Headmaster before staying up most of the night with the Potions Professor. And to top it all off, when he did get sleep, he had been plagued with the visions of Snape being totally alone and unprotected while Harry just stood rooted to the spot, unable to help or do anything except watch as the man was tortured before his very eyes before waking up after Voldemort had finished torturing the man and killed him.

So, no. He didn't get a good night sleep. And the ever present thought that he wouldn't be getting any tonight either was just enough to frustrate the young wizard even more.

"Yes, I did."

Apparently Dumbledore wasn't convinced. "I don't think you did."

"What do you know? You weren't here watching me sleep, how could you possibly know?"

"Potter! Hold your tongue!"

Harry flinched at the sound of Snape's harsh words. He had been hoping to avoid this, but it turns out that he just welcomed it with open arms. Now Dumbledore was never going to leave him alone.

"Severus."

Harry lowered his eyes to the invisibility cloak still in his lap before realizing that his hands were clenched onto the armrests and gripped his cloak once more. Dumbledore was too observant for his own good. Harry was sure that the man knew exactly what was going on now, and Harry was not happy about it. He had half a mind to get up from the comfortable chair and leave. However, the chair was all too comfortable and he felt as a hundred pound weight was on top of him.

"Harry?"

Harry took a deep breath before looking up at the Headmaster. He saw the truth written in the elder man's eyes. Oh, yes, he knew.

"Could you close your eyes for me, Harry?"

Harry was shocked by the question. He never expected those words to come out of his professor's mouth. "Wh-what?"

"Can you close your eyes?"

Harry sat with his mouth agape for a moment before closing it and shaking his head and blinking owlishly. "Why?"

"Just humor me, Harry, please?"

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but found the words had left him quicker than a balloon being deflated. "No, I won't."

"Harry-"

"No. I don't see the point," he said, finally standing up and making his way to the door as fast as he could.

"You can't close your eyes, can you?"

Harry froze just as his hand had reached for the doorknob. He heard the realization and surprise in the man's voice. Harry wondered if he should even confirm what the Headmaster already knew. But he was tired and cranky and just wanted to get out.

Harry's shoulders slumped under the accusation of the Headmaster. "No, I can't," he said softly before opening the door and leaving his two professors behind him.

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The morning found Harry locked in the Room of Requirement with a book in his hands. After fleeing the two men, he went to the only place that he knew no one would be able to bother him. He had been sitting in his favorite chair by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room for several hours now. He had done everything he could to keep himself awake and nightmare free. He had paced back and forth across the Common Room for a while before having to sit down. After almost falling asleep twice, he knew he had to occupy his mind or else he would have no chance of avoiding a nightmare filled sleep.

So he thought that if he got into a good book, he wouldn't have to think about his sleep deprivation. All of a sudden Moby Dick was on the floor in front of him. He had never read the book, but after reading the summary, decided that he would give it a try.

He read and read for hours, not wanting to put the book down, not just so he didn't fall asleep, but because it was so good. After he finished reading, he looked at his watch and was shocked. It was already past nine o'clock! Putting the book down on the couch, he quickly left the room and made his way down to the dorm as fast as he could, just in case Dumbledore was searching for him. Thankfully he made it to the dorm without incident and back up to his bed before Ron could wake up. He put his cloak back into his trunk before going to the bathroom. Harry looked at himself in the mirror was saw that he looked like hell. Harry sighed. He knew that he couldn't hide the fact that he didn't sleep that night if he looked like this. So after he relieved himself, he took a shower, combed his hair, and brushed his teeth before going back into the room to get into some clean clothes. After getting ready for the day, Harry felt more awake and was sure that he looked much better.

Feeling the rumble of his stomach, telling him it was breakfast time, he left a quick note for Ron, telling him he was going to visit Hedwig before going to the kitchens for some breakfast. After leaving his still sleeping friend, he walked back down the stairs and took the opposite direction of the Infirmary and went to the Owlery.

Hedwig had been so glad to see him, she nearly nipped his ear off in happiness. He spent a few minutes with her, talking about nothing of importance before heading down to the kitchen with a promise to come back and see her soon. The castle was unusually quiet as Harry made his way down to the kitchens, only the talking of the portraits pierced the early morning hours. It was so different from the hustle and bustle of school months, where there was always something going on at almost all hours of the day.

Harry found his way to the kitchens, tickled the pear, and opened the portrait to be almost toppled over by Dobby.

"Harry Potter, sir! Good morning, Harry Potter, how is Harry Potter?"

Harry chuckled at the house elf's enthusiasm. "I'm fine, Dobby, how about you?"

"Oh, Dobby is fine, Harry Potter, sir. Harry Potter is always coming to see Dobby, and Dobby is very happy to see Harry Potter, sir!"

Harry shook his head and asked for some breakfast to get the house elf to back off. But when he came back, there were more elves to accompany him with trays of all different breakfast items. Harry took a plate that was offered by one of the elves before helping himself to something from each plate, so as not to make the elves feel bad. After thanking them, all but Dobby left for other duties.

Harry was still a little cranky after having no sleep, that he had to watch himself with the little elf. He knew Dobby was just trying to give Harry some company, but his constant chattering was grating on Harry's still raw nerves. But he was polite and quickly ate his fill. Dobby tried to get him to eat more, but he refused. He was already so full. He made his second promise to come back and see the elf, before leaving the kitchens. He stood outside, wondering what he should do. He didn't want to be inside, just in case he ran into the Headmaster again, so he took his troubled thoughts outside into the still cool morning.

Harry went over to his favorite rock and sat down, enjoying the early morning and watched the lake. He wondered what else that he and his friends could do. There had to be more to do around here than Quidditch all the time. But he didn't worry about it for to long, he knew his friends would come up with something to do. However there was something that he was worrying about: Snape. How was he suppose to be able to walk around the castle without fearing that he would walk into Dumbledore or, when he was out of the Hospital Wing, Snape? A part of him wanted to just get it over with, knowing that he probably would just give in later, but the other part of him, the one that didn't sleep at all last night, was wanting to avoid the confrontation for as long as he could. Though he had no idea how long that might be.

Harry heard a twig snap behind him and before he could think, he was off the rock with his wand in his hand. Only when he realized who it was did he lower his wand. "Ginny," he said with relief. "You startled me."

Ginny smiled. "Sorry bout that. I saw you from the common room and came down to see if you were all right."

Harry smiled back. "I'm fine, Ginny, thanks."

Ginny nodded and asked, "Mind if I sit with you for a while?"

"Sure," Harry told her, moving so that he could help her up. After making sure she was situated, he sat down next to her. Harry had a feeling that she had come down here for more than just check on his wellbeing. He was proven correct when Ginny spoke.

"So, how did things go last night? How was Snape?"

Harry chuckled. And Ginny seemed to understand. "Uh oh, what happened?"

Harry told her about how he overheard the two wizards talking and how he stayed longer than was wise and got caught. He was about to tell her what Dumbledore had asked him to do, but stopped himself, wondering if he should divulge that information to Ginny. He didn't want anyone to know how much watching Snape being tortured had really affected him. It was stupid. He was alive and healing, it shouldn't affect him this way. Besides, Dumbledore already knew, and he was sure that Snape new it by now too. So he left it at Dumbledore had wanted to know why he wouldn't let Snape see the vision as he saw it and he left frustrated.

Ginny nodded in understanding. "I don't know why he keeps asking you to do something that you have told him that you don't want to do."

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. It doesn't make sense, I know. But I just…I just don't know."

Ginny took his hand and gave it a small squeeze. He felt a lot better, but was still feeling the effects of lack of sleep taking its toll as they sat on that rock. He needed to get up and get moving or else Ginny would notice his heavy lids and question him about it.

"Ginny, I'm gonna go see Sirius. I haven't really talked to him in a few days, could you tell the others for me?" he asked.

"Sure, they're probably in the Great Hall now, so why don't we head on back to the castle?"

Harry nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

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Harry left Ginny at the Great Hall and made his way to Sirius' rooms. He remembered Sirius telling him where they were and quickly went there. He stood in front of a portrait of a large black dog with a wolf and stag accompanying him. Harry had to smile as he looked at the picture. It was very nice replica of Sirius, Remus, and his dad. Now what was the password?

Oh, yeah! "Marauding."

Harry chuckled, the portrait and password were perfect, and no one else would think twice about it if they didn't know what it meant. Harry stepped into Sirius' living room and looked around quickly taking in a couch to the right with armchairs adjacent to it. There were two doors, one on each side of the room. Harry quickly called out, "Sirius?" so that the man didn't have to worry about him being an unwelcome guest.

Sirius came into the room from the door on the right and with a big smile wrapped Harry in a hug. Harry welcomed it, as he hadn't been able to really spend time with his godfather in a few days. They stayed like that for a few moments before letting go. Each wore a bright smile.

"Hello, Sirius."

"Harry, how are you?" he asked, leading his godson to a nearby couch.

Harry sighed. "I've been better. But I'm good. How about you?"

Sirius frowned. "What's wrong?"

Harry shook his head. "It's nothing. Just stupid stuff, nothing to worry about. What's up with you?"

Sirius didn't look like he wanted to drop the subject. "What do you mean stupid stuff? Is something going on between you and Ron?" he asked, concerned.

Harry shook his head once more. "No, nothing like that." He paused. He didn't want Sirius to know the whole truth, at least not until Snape could be allowed to escape from the man if he wanted to, and right now he couldn't. So he settled for a partial truth. "Dumbledore wants me to talk to Snape. And I don't want to."

Sirius' eyes darkened. Yep, it had been a good idea to keep the whole truth from him. "Why?"

Harry shrugged, hating lying to his godfather, but knowing it was necessary for the moment. "I dunno. But I don't want to see him right now."

Sirius smiled. "Don't worry, you won't have to."

Harry smiled back, even knowing that if Dumbledore was to order him to go see Snape, Sirius wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Just to placate his godfather, he changed the subject. "So what have you been doing?"

"Oh, just this and that. Been doing stuff for Dumbledore, and no, you can't ask what so don't even bother," Sirius said with a smile.

Figures, Harry thought with a smirk. "Have you talked to Dumbledore about you and Remus teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts class together?"

"No, not yet. There's still plenty of time for that, but we'll probably have to start talking about it soon, or else Remus and I won't be able to get the lessons done…" Sirius turned thoughtful. "There's a lot to go into being a professor, Remus told me a bit about it," he said to Harry. "Maybe we should start on it sooner rather than later."

Harry snickered. "Maybe."

Sirius smiled. "But I still have to come up with a new name."

Harry was thoughtful for a few minutes, seeing if he could come up with something for his godfather to use that wouldn't give himself away. It took him a bit, but he finally thought of something. "What about James Winchester? Professor Winchester."

Sirius smirked. "Winchester?"

"Well it's an interesting last name at least. It's a type of rifle. Hey, at least I didn't suggest John Smith."

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, I don't think that would be believable."

"No, I don't think so either," Harry said with a smile. "But hey, it's just an idea, you can do whatever you want. You don't have to take my idea. It's going to be your name."

Sirius nodded. "True. But I do like using James though." There was a sad tint in his eyes as he said it, but it soon turned to happiness. "James would be thrilled. What about James Evans? It may be a little conspicuous, but we'll ask the Headmaster about it."

Harry grew sad for a moment as well, thinking of the parents he lost all those years ago. But knew that they would probably laugh themselves silly if they could see Sirius teach using their names. "It sounds great."

Sirius was about to say something when there was a knock at the door. Harry looked up and groaned quietly. "If my luck lately has been anything to go on, I know who that is."

Sirius smiled. "It may just be Remus, kid. Don't jump to conclusions."

Sirius stood up to see who was at the portrait entrance. Harry hoped that it was just Remus and not….

"Albus."

Lovely.

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LMSO! LOL that is just too funny. I'm sorry, I had to do it. I hope you guys liked the longer chapter. I'm so excited for the next chapter! I hope you all like it and don't think I'm rushing things here…but anyway, I'll get the next one out quick cause I'm so excited about it I can't keep the scenes out of my head!

Anyway, let me know what you think, there's a lovely button to be pushed right below there. Press it for me and tell me what you think? …pretty please?

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and stayed with me so far. I really appreciate it! New chapter coming soon! –Jen