Seems I need to take care of some unhappy customers….sigh

Jade: I write you back first because you seem to have the biggest issue with the story.

Notice at the beginning of Chapter 20 that I mentioned this story to be OOC, esp after finishing the 6th book.

I can't write Sev out as cruel as JKR because only she knows his innards.

Harry would've had time to play games after he received the laptop for Xmas—and I'm sure he must've seen Dudley play games before so Harry would obviously have some idea as to what he likes.

As for my abbreviations: So I spend too much time on IMs. Sue me. Those were the first few chapters and by far the hardest for me to write. I know I still have to go back and edit them when I'm through.

Concerning my tenses: Why don't you try writing a 7-10 page chapter and stay up all night typing it up while staring into a monitor after not sleeping for 2 days and not having eaten since the previous night, add a raging migraine on top of it all, and then tell me if you can keep your tenses straight. I know perfectly well that I have a problem with tenses. Normally I don't. But I don't normally spend all night trying to write my papers either. There's a reason I aced all my English exams and Regents'—because I know how to manipulate the language. Please allow me the right to human error that I bring myself when I choose to lose valuable sleep to update my story for everyone else. I didn't want to stay up so damn late: the chapter was too long and I was wishing I didn't have to type it all and that it would just appear on the screen for me. But life doesn't work that way.

Sheesh. And I thought I was nit-picky.

Rain: I'm not too sure about this, but I think that Death Eaters aren't allowed to teach at Hogwarts, the exception being Sev. Also, while Arsenius has always been engulfed in Dark Magic, he was never 100 supportive of Voldemort, and if he were, he'd be a Death Eater as well. We have no reason to believe that he is one as of yet.

And yes, I am an imbecile. Quite proud of it as well. Thank you.

Emnity: Thank you for being gentle on the tenses for me. Sorry about that. I try my best at night, but y'all know how it goes. I was just sooooooooo tired 

N.E.W.T.S: That's why I chose not to rewrite this story. Once I finished the 6th book, I realized that my plot was totally trashed. Now I guess it's AU, so, yea. I keep writing because a) it's almost done and b) people still seem to enjoy it, so I write. But thanks for your input.

snapesnumbah1fanhaleigh and Lady Darkness13: I hate causing pain for people  Makes me cry sometimes. But it's essential for this story. I do promise that neither Harry or Sev will die :-P

Oi vey (I think it's spelled right?).

For the rest of you, thank you for your reviews. I didn't expect to get so many this quickly. However, it would be nice for some to actually tell me if they like or don't like my story, not criticize the way I write it (as in picking it apart). I don't mind pointing out grammatical errors and small shit like that, but don't tear every sentence apart on me. I've seen stories on here that were written shittier than hell. I've also graded and corrected other people's essays and papers. Why? Because I am one of the rare students that have the ability to use the languages I read, speak, and write for whatever purpose I want, and because I can see errors. Out of habit, I generally don't proof what I write, which is why I always have errors when I post.

End rant. Continue to story. Luv y'all anyways! 

Chapter 21 Keeping the Silence

Severus was doing his usual patrolling of the corridors following supper one January evening. It wasn't a surprise that there weren't any students in the halls, after all, it was so bitterly cold and windy outside that the chill just came right through the stone walls.

And he had some random old Muggle song playing in his mind as he walked along...

does it hurt to remember/ does it help to forget / do you know what you started / when you let the fuse have a grip / There's not a reason why / you've come undone / there's nothing left to justify / this can't go on / There's nothing left inside / as I walk this broken line / ...do you still hear him screaming / and does the fear make you run / is the anger inside of you / a gift from father to son / I don't believe in you / you've come undone / I don't believe in what you do / this can't go on / I don't believe in you / as I walk this broken line...

Severus shook his head. He had to stop thinking about that shit.

He had just turned the corner towards the DADA classrooms and was promptly blasted by a shot of icy wind from the corner window. He tightened his cloak around him and continued down the corridor.

CRASH!

Severus paused, listening hard. He didn't hear anything for a few moments, so he moved on, keeping his ears peeled.

About a minute later, he heard a thud and someone yelling angrily from a room towards the end of the corridor.

"Now look what you've done!" A pause. "You're nothing but a filthy Gryffindor, and even less capable than the rest!"

Walking swiftly, Severus went to the door and opened it in time to see someone rather dirty and red fly into a group of desks near the doorway and fall through them. That someone rolled over upon hitting the floor, narrowly avoiding a desk leg to the face. Lying face up, that someone looked up at Severus with half-glazed green eyes.

It was Harry.

Severus stood in complete shock as he stared at the boy at his feet. Covered in dust and dirt, Harry was just flowing blood out of places that Severus couldn't even see. If he didn't know Harry's behavior as well as he did, Severus would've never known that Harry was in a full panic and on the verge of losing consciousness.

"Well, well, well, Severus. Delighted you could join us."

"What in the bloody hell is going on here?" Severus croaked out, still staring at Harry, who had curled up on the floor, facing Severus.

"Language," Arsenius admonished softly. "I believe you know precisely what's going on here. Don't you, Severus?"

Severus looked around the classroom. He saw the overturned desks, the blood smeared on not only the wall, but also the desks and cabinets. Severus' gaze went from the dust in the air to Arsenius, who'd moved closer to where he stood.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because he's nothing but a spoiled, rotten, incompetent, worthless excuse for a human being who can't follow direction. At all," Arsenius sneered.

"Regardless of that, was this really nec—"

Arsenius backhanded Severus so hard he stumbled into the wall.

"Don't question me, boy," Arsenius hissed. "You know what happens to insubordinate students. Everything is beaten into them until they learn it properly. Some need more discipline than others."

"This isn't discipline, this is—" Severus tried to protest but was cut off.

There was a thud as Arsenius gave his son a swift punch in the head.

"Don't talk back to me!" he roared. "Now. You know the rules. You will follow them. You break them, I will know. You'll wish I'd killed you all those years ago."

He turned so suddenly that Severus flinched.

"Take care of that," Arsenius spat, looking at Harry's now unconscious and still bleeding form on the floor. Then he swept out of the classroom.

Severus slid down the wall to the floor. "Reparo," Severus whispered, and the room returned to its normal state. He gathered Harry into his arms and within seconds they were both in the Potions classroom.

"Clottus terminus," Severus muttered, laying Harry flat on the floor. He crawled to his store cupboard, pulled out the strongest Healing Potion and Revitalizing Draught in his possession. Crawling back to Harry, he dumped the necessary doses down Harry's throat and waited.

"Severus?" Harry whispered. Severus looked down at him.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, his voice breaking. Severus noticed that even with the Revitalizing Draught, Harry was still extremely weak. Even his aura had completely vanished.

"For what?" Severus asked, stroking the boy's hair.

"Failing," Harry said, and fell back into unconsciousness.

Severus frowned. That wasn't supposed to have happened. And why was Harry so weak?

"Salio Revelo," Severus incanted the charm for a health report. A piece of parchment fell out of the air. Severus grabbed it, took one look at it and gasped.

Harry hadn't eaten a single morsel of food since the Christmas dinner, and nothing before that for at least several weeks. He'd been living off of water for months. Most of Harry's spare time had been spent sleeping if not studying and, according to the parchment, he'd been abused for some time. It also said that he had very poor energy levels.

Severus picked Harry up and carried him to his chambers, to a spare room that Severus occasionally used as a guest room. He put Harry on the bed and tucked him in, setting Harry's glasses on the stand beside him. Deciding to let the boy stay as long as he needed to reenergize, Severus left the door ajar and went to sit in the main chamber, still scanning the report.

Towards the bottom of the parchment, it said that Harry's magical status was Restricted. Severus knew that Restricted meant either dangerously low or blocked, though by what, he had know idea. Dangerously low didn't match up with Harry, as he'd still been able to perform astonishingly well in his classes. Lack of food and low energy couldn't cause a block to one's magic either. Severus was at a loss as to how and why Harry's magic was Restricted.

His first instinct was to go and tell Albus about it, but Arsenius' words rose to the surface of his mind: "You know the rules, you will follow them. You break them, I will know…" Severus was to keep his mouth closed no matter the circumstance, or else pay the consequences. But even as this thought left his mind, he was reminded of the sixteen-year old teenager in the other room and the damage that was being inflicted on the both of them.

There was only one other person that Severus could trust. And she had to know.

Twenty minutes later, Minerva McGonagall was seated across from him, having just finished examining the health report.

"Who did this?"

Severus looked at her. He didn't say a word, yet he could see in her eyes that she knew the answer.

"I should have known," she said.

"This has to stay between us, Minerva," Severus said. "You know this as well as I."

"Yes, I do. And you know I will, as I have previously."

Severus nodded. Then he thought of something.

"The Evanis sisters," he said. "We have to protect them."

"I believe it may already be too late," Minerva said. "Setarina's been slightly…off, since holiday."

"Yes, I've noticed that as well," Severus sighed. "It appears that no one else has, however."

Minerva nodded. "Let's hope it stays that way."

She took another look at the parchment before her. "'Restricted?" she asked, frowning.

"That's what it says," Severus said. "But the things that would cause restriction aren't present in him. Nothing matches up."

"Hmm," she said. "I could help you with the research for this, if it's alright with you."

Severus shrugged. "I have no problem with that," he said. "Two minds are better than one."

Minerva gave him a slightly amused look. "You wouldn't've said those words twenty years ago," she said.

"I was a child twenty years ago," Severus sneered. "And quite out of it I might add."

Minerva shook her head and stood to leave. "I'll see you in the morning?"

Severus nodded. She turned and left, closing the door with a snap behind her.

Harry woke up at some point in the morning. He didn't know what time it was, but he didn't bother to open his eyes to find a clock. So he fell back asleep.

"...Harry?" Someone was calling his name. Harry opened his eyes and saw Severus standing beside the bed, looking down at him. Harry frowned.

"My guest room," Severus said, answering the unspoken question in Harry's mind. "Not that I expect to have visitors at any point, but as you can see, it does come in handy sometimes."

Harry smiled, but didn't say anything. Severus sat on the edge of the bed and looked closer at him.

"How are you feeling?" Severus asked softly.

"How do you think I'm feeling?" Harry asked.

"I have only an idea, Harry," Severus said. "Your situation is a bit different from mine."

Harry shrugged. "Drained. Sore. Helpless. Depressed. The list goes on much further than that, but I could care less to relate it," he said.

It was apparent that Severus was thinking, as he didn't answer right away. Harry sat up a little and pulled his knees up from under the sheet.

"I wasn't supposed to pass out last night after the potion, was I?" Harry asked.

"No," Severus said heavily. "Regardless of your condition, you were supposed to remain conscious."

"So why didn't I?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out." Severus stood and left the room.

Frowning again, Harry got up from the bed and went to the adjacent bathroom. When he was finished, he went out to the main chamber, where Severus was seated in an armchair. Harry sat in the other chair and waited for the older man to speak.

"There's a parchment on the table," Severus said. "Take a look."

Harry picked it up and examined it. "My health report," he said.

"Mmhm."

Harry saw where the report told of how long it had been since he'd last eaten and swore under his breath.

"Mmhm."

Harry glanced up at Severus. He was still staring out in space. Looking back at the parchment, Harry read the rest of it.

"Hang on," he said after a moment. "'Magical status listed as Restricted?' How can that be?"

He watched as Severus' eyes focused and swiveled over to his own. "I was hoping you might be able to tell me that."

Harry held up his hands. "How would I know?"

Severus raised his eyebrows. "What's going on that I don't know about?"

Harry shook his head.

"None of the usual causes for magical restriction exist in you, Harry," Severus said. "As far as I know, there's no reason for you to have it."

"Is there room for error in that statement?" Harry asked.

"Yes, because I know I'm not too familiar with restriction and how it works."

Harry said nothing to that. He always thought Severus knew more than most wizards did, and even though he knew that the man wasn't some all-knowing person, it still shocked him when he found that Severus didn't know something. Sometimes it really bothered Harry to know this, because Severus was one of the three most knowledgeable people he knew.

"I am researching the causes," Severus said. "Perhaps I'll find something of use in those dusty volumes..." he trailed off, his eyes losing focus.

"Perhaps," Harry muttered. He set the parchment back on the table between them and got up. He could see Severus' eyes out of the corner of his own, watching him as he walked toward the door.

"Later," Harry said, and left.

A few hours later found Severus sitting cross-legged on the library floor, surrounded by various books. So far he hadn't found anything he hadn't already known about magical restriction, and he was becoming frustrated.

His stomach growled in protest as he went to pick up yet another tome. He hadn't eaten yet, and he knew it had to be nearly dinner time. He glanced up at the clock.

19:27.

Severus got a sudden chill down his spine as he stared at the clock. It was a chill that quickly settled in the pit of his stomach and refused to go away. He tried to shake it off, but he decided it wasn't really worth it, so he put it aside for later. He headed up to the Great Hall instead.

"Good evening, Severus," his father called, approaching the doors to the Main Hall as Severus walked through them.

"Good evening, father," Severus greeted neutrally. He wasn't in the mood to deal with his father's antics that evening.

"Lovely weather, isn't it?"

"Oh, charming," Severus said sarcastically. "If it gets any colder in this castle, blood will freeze."

Arsenius laughed. Just the sound made Severus want to curl up in front of a bonfire somewhere and drink himself to oblivion.

"You may be right, but not everyone has the strength that flows through the veins of the Snape line."

"Perhaps that is why we are often referred to as vampires," Severus smirked. His father laughed again.

"Ah, here comes Minerva," Arsenius said. "Good day."

Severus nodded, half ignoring the fact that his father had left the Hall. He remained standing by the Head Table, scanning the House tables while waiting for the Headmistress. He was surprised to see Harry at the Gryffindor table. He was sitting across from Granger and Severus noticed that he wasn't eating anything.

As if he knew someone was watching him, Harry looked up at Severus. Severus lifted his head slightly in acknowledgement and saw Harry's mouth curve a little before responding to something his friend was saying.

"We have a problem," Minerva said in a strange voice when she arrived at Severus' side.

Severus turned suddenly to look at her. The cold in his stomach became even more pronounced when he saw her pale face and slightly disheveled hair. Minerva McGonagall was rarely ever less than neatly presentable (y'all get the general idea).

"And what would that be?" he asked warily. He didn't like the look in her eyes.

"The Headmaster is…gone," she replied, still in that strange voice. Her eyes darted at each student present in the Hall.

Severus tilted his head. "Gone?" he repeated, louder than he'd intended. He noticed that the students nearest to them were looking at them and most likely listening as well.

"Gone," Minerva confirmed. "As in, beyond all return."

"No." Severus refused to believe his ears.

"Severus, he's completely vanished," Minerva said. She moved forward and laid her hand on his arm. "There's no evidence of any struggle or magical action. He just…disappeared."

Severus looked away. He could almost hear his own heart hammering in his chest cavity. He looked back over at Harry, who was frowning in his direction.

"Severus…"

He walked away from her, picking up his pace the further he went. He had to see for himself, had to go to Albus' office himself. He had to.

It only took a few minutes to get to the gargoyles. Having forgotten the new password, Severus whispered the emergency password.

"Xercius," and the gargoyles sprang aside. Severus paid no notice and raced up the staircase and into the office.

It was completely vacant. Severus knew by instinct that there was no finding Albus; he was gone. The question was, where?

'Harry,' Severus thought frantically, though he knew Harry wouldn't hear him, 'where is he?'

"I don't know," Harry's voice answered. Severus spun around and found Harry behind him.

"You—"

"Yea," Harry said, still frowning. "Apparently it's a developing talent of some sort, because I never could before."

Severus nodded.

"Voldemort doesn't have him," Harry said. "Neither do any of the Death Eaters."

"I didn't think so," Severus said. "The Dark Lord would have Summoned us all to watch."

"Hmph," Harry said, walking around Albus' desk to Fawkes. "Must be what he sees as amusement these days..." he trailed off, stroking the phoenix's head.

Severus watched the teenager with the bird. There was something peaceful about that scene...he shook his head.

"He's gone without a trace, has he?" Harry asked softly.

"Yes," Severus responded, settling himself in one of the chairs at the opposite side of the desk from Harry.

Harry turned to face his Potions Master. "Now what do we do?"

"Precisely what I was going to ask you."

Harry slumped down into the Headmaster's chair and put his head in his hands.

"What do we do?" he whispered.

Just a little lyric playing here...

Father / I killed my monkey / I let it out to / taste the sweet of spring / wonder if I will wander out / test my tether to / see if I'm still free / from you / ...lately I'm into circuitry / what it means to be / made of you but not enough for you /

From a Tori Amos song, "Bliss." I was listening to it when I wrote this chapter, and it reminded me of how Severus regards Arsenius as his father.

Sorry for the constant cliffies...or not. I feel bad for leaving at a rough spot sometimes, but isn't that why we keep reading? Hehe.

College started up last Monday for me. I'd like to get this story finished by the end of the year, but y'all know how I am when I get busy. In the meantime, I have to concoct the next chapter. I'm not sure how I want it to go.

TTFN :-P