Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter or Unrepeatable.

A/N: Thanks to Fk306 animelover reviewing the last chapter! I had this one finished sooner than I expected to, so I just decided to go ahead and post it.

Chapter Twelve – In Which a Cry for Help is Heard

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."

Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC), The Lion and the Mouse

Harry awoke to find a strange feeling suffusing his limbs. He felt – lighter. As if some kind of strain had been pulling on him and now it had let go. He was reminded of muggle cartoons where a coyote would be trying to run away, only to find himself attached to some elastic and then snapped back to his original starting point. He'd always felt he was pushing or pulling against something. Whenever he did spells he felt as if he had to wrestle with his magic and physically force it to do something. He turned to his bedside table and looked for his glasses. They weren't there. He looked around, puzzled, but everything was a blur. Then he remembered, the night before, the potion had knocked him out pretty quickly and Belle had put him to bed.

"Accio glasses!" He called holding up his hand. He heard a whizzing and then his glasses smacked him in the face, along with some shoes, robes, socks, his book bag, and a chair which crashed into the footboard of his bed. The wardrobe rattled a little and Harry looked a little nervously at it until it stopped.

Well, that had never happened before.

Surely a little wandless Summoning Charm shouldn't be able to do all that? Though the Professor did mention that his magic would be unbalanced. Maybe he shouldn't have cast that charm. He settled back guiltily into his bed as the cavalry arrived.

"Harry! Is everything alright?"

"Why is that chair in pieces on the floor?"

"What's been happening in here?"

"What's going on?"

"Is Harry alright?" The last was from Hermione and Harry smiled sheepishly at the five people gathered in the doorway. He put his glasses on and waved.

"Er, hi guys! I, um, summoned my glasses." He explained and waited for the telling off. He didn't have to wait long.

"Harry! How could you be so careless? You knew your magic would be unbalanced this morning! You could have hurt yourself!" Hermione got in first and stomped over to him, hands on her hips. Harry knew she was fighting the urge to shake a finger at him. He sat up and silenced her with a kiss – he couldn't help it – she just looked too damn cute when she was cross!

"Ummph! Don't think you're getting out of this that easily!" She declared when he released her, though he did notice the expression on her face had softened immeasurably and she seemed to have run out of steam. He looked to the others who were still milling near the door and laughed a little at their expressions.

Sirius looked liked he wanted to give him the thumbs up for using the best method of escaping a scolding. Remus looked torn between laughter and worry. Belle was trying to hide a smile and Snape was showing his complete and utter contempt and amusement at the situation unabashedly. Harry was a little surprised at the Potions Master's reaction, but then he was also surprised to see the older man in pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt, his arm around Belle.

'No need to guess where he spent the night then!' Harry thought.

"Well then, crisis averted. Considering young Mr Black's history, we should be glad it was a false alarm." Snape said silkily and Harry laughed aloud at this.

"Makes a change, doesn't it Snape?" Harry said and the Potions Master inclined his head. Belle shook herself.

"Come on then everyone. I'll get ready and then go and make some breakfast." She offered and was greeted with cheerful exclamations. Hermione stayed put for a while and waited for the others to leave. She smacked Harry gently on the arm.

"Hey…" He protested but was cut off by an urgent kiss. After a few moments, Hermione pulled away.

"Don't ever do anything that foolish again Harry! You must try to understand, you have more than just yourself now. You have a family, you have me. When you make rash decisions like that, it affects all of us, OK?" She told him and he nodded, the truth of her words slowly sinking in.

"It's just that…I've been alone for so long, that I never stop to think…" He said, swallowing a little as the possible consequences of his actions now passed before his eyes.

"I know. It's just going to take a little getting used to, right?" Hermione suggested and he nodded.

"Right." He agreed with a smile. Hermione pulled him up and out of bed.

"Time to get up lazy bones! We've got a lot of work to do today!" She said brightly. Harry just groaned, muttering under his breath about 'morning people'.

When Harry and Hermione finally made it downstairs it was to hear Annabelle and Remus having a rather bizarre argument about pets. Despite taking Sirius in when she thought he was a dog it seemed Belle was more of a cat person.

"Oh, no, but cats are much cooler than dogs!" Belle was saying and Sirius was scoffing, crossing his arms in a doggy huff.

"They are!" She insisted, she went on. "Cats have a scam going. You buy them food, they eat the food, they go away. That's what they do. You have no control of your cat! You can't say to your cat, 'Cat, heel! Stay! Wait! Lie down! Roll over!' 'Cause the cat'll just be sitting there going 'Interesting words. Have you finished?' And while you're shouting this at your cat, your dog's right next to you going..." And she started miming the dog following the commands. Remus was chortling at her and Sirius was trying not to give up his offended pose. Even Snape was having trouble holding onto his haughty demeanour. Belle wasn't finished though it seemed. She waved hi as the two young students sat down at the table and started getting their breakfast.

"And you're like, 'What the hell are you doing? I'm talking to the cat.' And the dog's like, 'Oh sorry'. You wouldn't even dream of training your cat. You'd be there all, 'Cat's come for training. Now stay...Hello? Hello?' They just don't care, they just piss off." She said smiling and taking a sip of her orange juice. Sirius had given in and was laughing with Remus. Snape was chuckling quietly in his seat next to Belle, slowly drinking his coffee. Belle turned to Harry and Hermione.

"Good Morning you two. Sorry I didn't say hello straight away, I was just trying to prove a point." She said and got up to get a fresh carton of orange juice from the fridge as the one on the table was empty. Severus snorted.

"And what exactly was your point Annabelle?" He said raising an eyebrow at her as she sat down again. She ignored him for a moment while she refilled her glass.

"I don't know Professor Snape. Perhaps I shall ask Severus when he returns. Or maybe you could ask him for me." They all looked at her confused. Snape even let out a 'Humph!'

"Point taken." He said and raised his mug to her. Harry then realised what she had meant. It was very true. He really did seem to be two people. One was Professor Snape, the person who had been a complete arsehole to Harry for the last six years. And the other was Severus Snape. The one who had been his Auntie Belle's lover for five years, whom Harry did not know at all. All in all it was rather unsettling, and not a little bit scary.

"Now Harry, we'll need to start training right away so you can take control of your new magical strength. We'll need to test the scope of your magic now it has been released and check to see if there are any other bindings which were concealed by the first." Remus explained and Harry gasped in surprise.

"Is that possible?" He asked and the werewolf nodded.

"Absolutely. Though, I admit it is unlikely. The five of us will train together." He said indicating himself, Sirius, Belle, Hermione and Harry of course. Harry looked at Professor Snape, the question clearly evident on his face. The spy put his coffee cup down.

"I must return to Hogwarts." Harry could see Belle stiffen a little as Snape made this announcement. "No doubt Albus will have many questions for me when I arrive. For that reason I wish to enter into an Unbreakable Vow not to reveal anything I have learned here." He said quietly and Harry's eyebrows shot up to his hairline in surprise. He wasn't the only one either.

"Wow! Well, Professor. I mean, that's so…decent of you." Hermione said ruefully. Snape laughed again and smiled at her.

"Rather shocking isn't it? Before I go, I would like to make a request. None of you are going to like it though." He said and Sirius huffed.

"Knew there'd be a catch! What's your price then Snivellus? How much for your silence?" He asked, his mouth twisting cruelly. He received several smacks to the head from the people round the table. Belle noticed Severus flinch at the horrible taunt and placed a comforting hand on his. He immediately gripped it and threaded their fingers together, needing the comfort she was offering. She turned to her brother.

"Sirius Black! Don't you EVER let me hear you say anything like that again! How dare you treat Severus that way? He has risked a great deal by trusting us, and coming here to help us. You apologise right now, or you'll be eating boiled tripe for dinner for the next month!" She yelled and even Snape cowered a little at her wrath. Sirius's eyes flared indignantly for a moment and then he relented.

"I'm sorry Severus. I don't know what came over me. I'm being a childish prat, as usual." He said offering his hand to the Potions Professor. Severus eyed it suspiciously for a moment and then grasped it with his right hand, shaking it firmly. Belle squeezed his left hand in approval but didn't let go. Severus didn't let go either, he was grateful for the soothing contact.

"I do not ask for an exchange, my silence is guaranteed either way. All I ask, is that you consider my request: My godson, Draco, is in grave danger. His Father is in Azkaban as you know and as many don't know, his mother is a Marked Deatheater too. He does not wish to join the Dark Lord's ranks, neither do some of his friends. They too are in danger for this reason. If I can somehow get them to you – we don't have to meet here. The apparating to a car park and then driving here was an excellent idea by the way. As I was saying, if I can get them to you, would you take them in? Protect them? Their parents plan to force them to be Marked and Initiated in a week's time." Snape said, a great sadness showing in his eyes.

Harry and the others were blown away.

They none of them wished anyone to be forced to serve the Dark Lord. They all knew what the forced Marking and Initiation would do to the young Hogwarts students. Harry looked around at the faces of his family and really considered it.

"I don't know about you guys, but I don't see that we have a choice. I will not let anyone suffer though forced subservience to that bastard if I can help it! I know what it feels like to be Marked, thanks to my visions. I also know what other things they will have to endure. I say we do it. We have to." He declared firmly and he noticed that Belle and Hermione were nodding, along with Remus and Severus. Sirius looked torn.

"Harry, I want to help them escape their families. After all, I know what they're going through! I've been there too. But surely Dumbledore…" He began but Snape cut him off.

"I've already spoken with Albus and he says that though their fate is regrettable, it can't be helped. He claims not to have the time or the manpower to assist them." Snape said with a sneer. He knew what Dumbledore really meant – his Slytherins weren't worth the trouble it would take to save them.

"It always comes back to one of them, doesn't it? Voldemort or Dumbledore? All of us 'little people' are caught between the two of them as they have their game of Tug of War. Both of them have written the Slytherins off because of their families. The same way they have done to all of us. People will never judge us on our own merit, they will never be able to see past our names." He looked round the table at the people gathered there. "Severus Snape will always be the greasy git who terrifies students – not the caring Professor who is trying to spare his godson the ordeal he suffered himself as a young man. Aiyana Riddle would never be able to get free of the taint of her Father, after all, with Voldemort's blood flowing in her veins, she just has to be evil? And Draco Malfoy will always be a nasty bastard that isn't worth saving, because won't he just turn out to be just like his Dad in the end?" Harry spat. The others were taken aback at his impassioned words but were fired with indignation when the truth of them sank in.

"And Harry Potter will always be The-Boy-Who-Lived who had his powers bound by the saintly Albus Dumbledore so he could be controlled and trained into the ultimate weapon." Snape added quietly. Harry nodded in acknowledgement. He privately suspected that Dumbledore had bound his magic so that he would not end up like Tom Riddle – too powerful. The Headmaster was short sighted indeed, as he didn't see that this kind of deception and manipulation is what could turn an awful lot of people bad. He wouldn't be surprised if it had been a contributing factor in Tom's turning into Voldemort.

"I agree with Harry. We should take them in. Just how many are we talking about Severus? We'll need to cast a few spells on the house to accommodate everyone." Belle said.

"Four: Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. They are the ones in danger. The others in that year, are, I'm afraid, lost to us already. They are willingly going to be Marked. I doubt they will return to Hogwarts in the Autumn, their parents mentioned something about Durmstrang." Snape replied and the people at the table nodded. Belle squeezed his hand again and he inwardly sighed with relief.

When those four students approached him separately they had been desperate. They knew he was a Deatheater and they took a great risk in revealing their fears to him. Of course it was done in such a way that only after mutual assurances of silence, they confessed all and asked him to rescue them from what they considered to be a fate worse than death. He'd gone to see the Headmaster immediately, confident that he would know what to do to help. Only to be astounded and furious when the old man refused help and forbade him to relinquish his position as a spy in order to save them.

'The lives of four students do not outweigh the needs of the many Severus.' He'd said.

Sanctimonious old codger.

Severus had begun to despair of finding a solution and Draco and the others had started to become resigned to their fate, bleak despair evident in their eyes whenever he saw them. It was heartbreaking. He was worried that one of them might do themselves an injury, just to get away. Well, now they didn't have to worry. He couldn't wait to give them the good news.

"Are we agreed then everyone?" Asked Sirius and they all nodded. "Yes." Was then unanimous decision.

"How soon can you get them here?" Asked Remus.

Draco Malfoy sat in the window seat of his room at Malfoy Manor and tried not to dwell on his fate. He was starting to lose hope that his godfather could find him a way out of this. When his Father had been sentenced to Azkaban, he outwardly raged about the injustice. Inside though, he gave extravagant thanks to whichever deity had granted him this reprieve.

It was short lived however when his Mother informed him of his imminent initiation into the ranks of the Deatheaters. Sure, Draco was proud of his heritage and he shared some of his family's ideals, but his was essentially a gentle soul. He had a talent for healing which led to the kindness of nature he had been repressing inside himself for as long as he could remember. He wasn't a saint by any stretch of the imagination. He did rather enjoy annoying Potter, and he was a bit of a man-whore. But he wasn't evil, not even a little bit.

His head turned as he heard tapping at the window pane and jumped up as he recognised his godfather's personal owl. It was the one he used when communicating with Draco's Father so it wouldn't be out of place here at the Manor. Draco let it in and hurried to get it a treat. That done he hastily grabbed the letter and opened it.

Dragon,

Meet me in a private room at the Leaky Cauldron today at two o'clock. The landlord will direct you. Tell your Mother you are meeting Pansy for ice cream and that you will be buying your school supplies. Your Hogwarts letter should have arrived by now. Remember that a prudent man is always ready for any eventuality.

Regards,

Severus.

Draco clutched the letter to his chest for a moment as his breathing hitched. Then he threw it into the fire and watched it burn. This was it – Severus had found a way for him to escape. He wondered where he would be going. There was still a good few weeks before school started again – Hogwarts would be deserted. He didn't care though; this was his chance to be free! He jumped up and composed himself ready to go and ask Mother for permission to Floo to Diagon Alley.