Enjoy!

The first Quidditch match of the year took place on a cold and rainy day. Harry wanted to stay inside the castle, by the warm fireplaces, but he found himself being dragged outside against his will.

"Why do I have to go again?" he demanded. "Something bad is just going to happen."

"You're just being paranoid," Tracey said. "It's the first game of the season."

"Slytherin isn't even playing," Harry pointed out. "What's the big deal about Quidditch, anyway? It's just a sport."

Tracey sighed.

"When did you become so bookish?" she asked. Harry shrugged.

"Do you mean why would I rather remain inside where it's warm and dry instead of following the herd out to a place where it's muddy, cold, and wet?" Harry asked dryly as he wiped his glasses clean. It was futile. The rain fogged up his glasses within seconds of putting them on. Harry sighed and just gave up. He would just have to follow Tracey and try not to trip.

Through the rain, Harry could barely keep track of the players in the air. The only way he could really tell what was going on was by the commentary.

After ten minutes, Harry tried to return to the castle but he didn't get very far in the crowded stands. The rain made it difficult to see and the students were too crowded together so Harry couldn't take a step without running into his classmates.

Half an hour into the match, Harry tried to move again. This time, he dragged Tracey along with him. Both Slytherins were soaked to the bone.

Tracey protested but Harry made her lead him away from the crowds.

"This is mad," he said. Tracey had to admit that he had a point. The rain had picked up and was beginning to turn to sleet. Lightning flashed in the air, lighting up the entire sky. The wind and the rain blocked out the sounds of the crowd.

Harry gasped as coldness began to seep into his bones. His legs buckled as someone screamed inside his head….A woman…

Tracey grabbed Harry's arm as he began to collapse but her stomach rolled. She shivered. The cold felt like it was ripping her apart from the inside.

Harry's eyes rolled back into his head as the screaming became too much. His body fell limp.

Harry woke up in the hospital wing and groaned. He had fainted in front of most of the school. And he knew what caused it.

The dementors.

That was embarrassing. He really needed a way to counteract the effects of the dementors. He couldn't let these creatures control him. Slytherins were in control of their own selves. Nothing else could control them.

"Have a nice nap, Potter?" a voice asked from his side. Harry turned his head and spotted Draco Malfoy sitting next to his bed.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" he asked, trying not to show his surprise. Draco Malfoy was the last person he expected to see sitting as his bedside.

"Getting my bandages changed," Draco said, holding up his arm. Harry rolled his eyes. He had mostly forgotten that Draco was still dragging that thing out.

"No offense," Draco said, "but you've got the worst luck I've seen when it comes to watching Quidditch matches. Promise me you won't go to the Quidditch World Cup? I think the stands would catch fire if they did."

Harry made a face.

"Oh, shut it," he grumbled. "None of it was my fault. Who won the match?"

"Do you really care?" Draco asked. Harry shook his head.

"Not really," he admitted. "Though I suppose you're right. I should just stop going to Quidditch matches. Something bad always ends up happening. What happened to Quidditch being a safe spectator sport?"

Draco laughed.

"You just have horrible luck," he said. "Are you all right now?"

Harry nodded. He still felt a little cold and nauseous but it would pass. It always did.

"I'll be fine," he said and gestured to Draco's arm. "When are you going to give that up?" he asked. "I know it's been healed for weeks."

Draco smirked.

"Whenever it stops being effective," he replied. "That's the thing, Potter. Slytherins have to take advantage of every weakness in others that they can find."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"I know," he said.

"You're not the typical Slytherin, you know," Draco said as Harry got out of bed and started getting dressed. He never understood Madam Pomfrey's need to always change her patients into hospital wing clothes. It made him feel like a prisoner. Draco made a face as Harry set the clothes on the bed. He had averted his eyes while Harry was changing.

"Horrible quality," Draco sneered.

"Going to complain to the school board?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"I should," he said. "Ready to go? I'm sure the girls are all prepared to play nurse."

Harry grimaced at the thought.

"I know I'm not the typical Slytherin," he said as he and Draco left the hospital wing. "A lot of times I think I should have been in Ravenclaw."

"You definitely have the whole studious thing going on," Draco admitted. "So why were you placed in Slytherin?"

Harry shrugged.

"It said that it was the best fit for me," he said. "Something about having to prove myself." He didn't think that Draco could use that information against him in any way.

"Prove yourself?" Draco asked. "Prove yourself how?"

Harry shrugged.

"No idea," he lied. He knew how he had to prove himself. "What did the Sorting Hat say about you?"

Draco looked awkward.

"Not much," he said. "Just that it could tell Slytherin was the house for me."

Harry wasn't surprised. Draco acted like the poster child for Slytherin most of the time.

"Have you ever heard of a way to control dementors?" Harry asked as he shivered. He needed some warm food in his body or some chocolate. Thankfully he kept a stash of sweets in his trunk. "Or to make it so they'll leave a person alone?"

Draco nodded.

"Dumbledore did it at the Quidditch match," he said. "The dementors that watch the ground got distracted by us and tried to attack. There's obviously a way, otherwise the Ministry wouldn't use them to guard Azkaban."

"Are there human guards at Azkaban?" Harry asked, picking at the sleeve of his robe.

"There's a few Aurors," Draco said. "But of course, it's not a highly sought after job. The Aurors normally stay off the island, according to my father. They're normally in charge of transporting prisoners."

Harry nodded. He couldn't imagine the toll that job must take.

"I'd ask Professor Snape if you want to figure out how to defeat a dementor," Draco said. "He wouldn't apply for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position every year without knowing some things."

Draco had a point, Harry had to admit. Professor Snape was fearless and confident. He wouldn't apply for the job without knowing that he would be able to do his best in the position.

They had reached the common room. Harry entered first. He was lucky that the common room was mostly empty. He wasn't sure where his yearmates were but if he could escape the girls for a while, he was a happier boy. He wasn't like Draco. He didn't want girls fawning over him all the time.

For the rest of the weekend, it took all of Harry's Slytherin talents to avoid Tracey. He knew that if she found him, she would demand to know what had happened after he had been taken to the hospital wing.

Harry wouldn't be able to answer her questions because he really wasn't sure what had happened. Somehow he and Malfoy were on friendlier terms than they had been before. He wasn't quite sure what had contributed to the change.

Harry also couldn't answer the question of whom he heard screaming. It was a woman, that much was obvious. But he hadn't heard the voice before.

Or maybe he had. There was a woman he used to live with before the Dursleys. A woman whose voice he couldn't remember.

His mother.

Harry pushed the thought out of his mind. She was dead. He didn't want to believe that he was hearing a dead woman's voice.

After the Quidditch match, things continued normally at Hogwarts until Christmas time.

Shortly before Christmas, Severus Snape was in his lab, making the next batch of Wolfsbane potion for Professor Lupin. Once a month for nearly a week he spent his nights in the lab, making sure there was enough to get the werewolf through the full moon. Sometimes he even made sure there was extra when he was in a decent enough mood.

Many times throughout the week, Professor Snape found himself questioning Dumbledore's motives for hiring a werewolf to teach. He understood that there were very few applicants for the position, especially after such a notable figure as Gilderoy Lockhart lost his memory on the job, but he still didn't know why Professor Dumbledore denied him the job.

Oh, yes, Dumbledore gave his excuses for denying Severus the job but Severus suspected that the man was just trying to manipulate him. He didn't believe that the position was cursed or that he was too valuable for the headmaster to lose. He believed that Dumbledore refused to give him the position just because the man liked saying no to his requests.

The man had been saying no to Severus for a long time. He had said no after Voldemort was defeated when Severus wanted to stop spying. He said no when Severus said that he didn't want to teach, two years after Harry had been left with the Dursleys. He said no when Severus asked to leave the school and become a true Potions master shortly after Harry's fourth birthday.

Try as he might, Severus Snape couldn't get out from under Dumbledore's thumb. He had tried for years.

And while he was under Dumbledore's eye, he dare not contact Harry. He didn't want the man to know that he had any interest in the boy in fear that Dumbledore would ask questions. Even worse, he didn't want Dumbledore to try and manipulate Harry like Dumbledore manipulated him. He wanted the boy to have a normal life as much as possible.

Which was part of the reason why he had asked the Davises to be Harry's guardians. They were one of the most normal Slytherin families that weren't Death Eaters.

Severus Snape shook his head to clear his thoughts and started to bottle the Wolfsbane potion. He had to deliver the first dose of the month tonight.

His lips instinctively curled into a sneer as he approached Lupin's office. He entered the room without knocking.

"Severus." The werewolf acknowledged him with a nod of his head.

"Lupin," the Potions professor replied snidely. "Time to drink up."

Lupin made a face as the potion was set on his desk. He reached for it and lifted the potion to his lips. He made a face as he downed the Wolfsbane.

"Thank you once again," he said to Snape. "I know it makes your nights longer than they need to be."

"Save your thanks for Dumbledore," Severus said. "He's the one that keeps you employed and running around the school like a dog on a leash."

Lupin gave the dark-haired man a wry smile. Severus turned away.

"How did you react, finding out that Harry Potter was Sorted into Slytherin?" Lupin asked him suddenly. Snape paused and Lupin continued. "How did it feel knowing that your school rival's son was in your house?"

"I dealt," Snape said.

"Sirius would be upset, knowing that his godson was a Slytherin," Lupin said.

"Why are you asking these questions?" Snape demanded of the werewolf, who only shrugged.

"I'm curious," Remus replied. "I was surprised when I heard that he was in Slytherin. Everyone thought that he would be a Gryffindor."

Severus held his tongue. He wanted to tell Lupin that he was glad his son wasn't a foolish Gryffindor, where he could get into who knows how much trouble. He wanted to say that he was happy that his son broke away from what others expected of him. That he was proud that his son showed some of his traits.

Yet he knew that he couldn't say any of this to Lupin. The man wouldn't understand.

"I want to teach him how to defend himself against dementors," Lupin said as Severus began to walk away again. "I've never seen them affect a student so horribly before."

"Why are you talking to me, then?" Severus asked with a sneer. "Why don't you talk to him about it? Are you too frightened of a child?"

"I'd think he'd take it better knowing that I had your approval," Lupin said. "He doesn't seem to like me very much and seems to look up to you for whatever reason."

Severus glowered at Lupin.

"I don't care what you do as long as any students don't come to harm," he said. Lupin nodded.

"You have my word," he said. Severus's mouth tightened. He would never forgive the wolf if any harm came to his son this year.

"I'll bring another dose tomorrow," Snape said as he left the room. "Have a good dog nap, Lupin. Dream of chasing rabbits. I'm sure if you wake up and get hungry, there's a nice bone for you to gnaw on."

The last day of classes before the Christmas holidays, Professor Lupin kept Harry back after class. The Slytherin eyed his Defense Against the Dark Arts professor warily. He had done nothing to warrant being held back after class had finished.

"Did you need something, Professor Lupin?" Harry asked hesitantly. The man nodded.

"I've noticed how the dementors affect you," he said. Harry's cheeks reddened. "I wanted to offer you the opportunity of learning how to defend yourself against them. Professor Snape has already okayed the private lessons."

Harry's eyes widened. Had Professor Snape really done so?

"All right," he agreed. He had been meaning to ask Professor Snape about learning how to defeat dementors but something had always come up before he could talk to the man. Now Professor Snape was thinking ahead, like always.

Professor Lupin looked surprised at Harry's ready agreement. Apparently he had expected the boy to put up more of a fight.

"I will contact you after the holidays," the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor said. "Once I've rested a bit."

Harry nodded. He had noticed the professor got ill quite frequently.

"Are you staying here over the holidays?" Professor Lupin asked as Harry gathered up his materials. The boy nodded.

"I always stay at Hogwarts for the holidays," he said. "It's nice here."

Lupin smiled sadly.

"Yes," he agreed. "I suppose it is. Enjoy your holidays, Mr. Potter."

"Enjoy yours as well," Harry replied and left the classroom.

Harry didn't know what to expect for this Christmas holidays. He had decided to stay behind at Hogwarts, much to Tracey's disappointment. This was his first holiday knowing that he had an actual father, one that would also be at Hogwarts over the holidays.

Would they have a Christmas breakfast together? Would they exchange presents? Harry doubted it but he had picked up something in Hogsmeade just in case. He had decided when the year had started that the best Christmas present Professor Snape could give him was to spend time with him. Harry didn't expect much. He would be satisfied with an hour or two.

Not many Slytherins stayed behind this year. Only Blaise from Harry's year was staying and that was because the boy didn't want to deal with his new stepfather. According to Blaise the first Christmas was always the worst when his mother remarried. If the husbands even made it until then.

Christmas morning, to Harry's confusion, a house-elf woke him up bright and early.

"Pokey is to bring you to breakfast," the house-elf squeaked. Harry rubbed his eyes in confusion.

"But breakfast isn't for another few hours," he mumbled, trying not to wake Blaise. It wouldn't have mattered though. Blaise was a deep sleeper. Once he was asleep, very few things could wake the dark-skinned boy.

"Pokey is ordered by Professor Snape to bring you to breakfast," the house-elf urged. Harry's eyes widened. Professor Snape?

The third year lunged out of bed and quickly dressed. If Professor Snape was requesting his presence at a Christmas morning breakfast, Harry wasn't going to say no. Once dressed, the boy followed the house-elf to Professor Snape's personal quarters.

Reaching the rooms, Harry hesitated before knocking on the door. Even though he had dreamed about this happening throughout the term, he couldn't believe that it was actually happening.

The door opened immediately after he knocked. Harry took a deep breath and stepped inside. His eyes glanced all around the living area. It was simple but it felt much more homier than Spinners' End or the apartment he had stayed at during the summer.

Then his eyes landed on his father, who was sipping a cup of tea.

"Happy Christmas," Snape said quietly.

Harry grinned widely.

"Happy Christmas," he replied. His eyes landed on the food spread across the table. It was simple, nothing as elaborate as the feast that would be served that night, but Harry still thought that it was magnificent.

"Since there won't be a meal served until lunch," Professor Snape said. "I figured that we could celebrate the holiday over breakfast."

Harry's grin widened. Then he remembered the present in his hands.

"I got you a present," he said awkwardly. Professor Snape looked slightly surprised but he gestured to the chair next to him. There was a present sitting on the chair.

"As did I," he said. "But before we open presents, we should eat. Otherwise the food will go cold."

Harry quickly took a seat. Within minutes the two had fallen into the normal breakfast routine they had established in the summer. Breakfast was quiet for the most part but neither minded. The silence was peaceful and not awkward.

After breakfast, Pokey cleared away the table and Severus led his son over to the living area of his quarters. With a small blush, Harry handed over the present he had gotten for his father. He had never given family a present before.

Severus set the present at his side and handed Harry the small present he had gotten for the boy. Harry's green eyes watched him carefully as he took the present. At the professor's nod, the thirteen-year-old opened the present.

It was a set of potions books. One book was a detailed list of potions ingredients and their properties, along with a list of potions that they were most commonly found in. The other two were more advanced copies of the potions books that Harry currently owned.

"Thank you," Harry said quietly, tracing the spines of the books. He looked at his father, who was opening his present from Harry.

Harry bit the inside of his cheek. He hoped that the Potions professor would like his present. He hadn't been quite sure what to get the man and he hadn't had much money with him when he had last gone to Hogsmeade. It had been a spur of the moment decision to get his father something and Severus Snape was a very hard man to shop for.

The wrapping paper fell off the present to reveal a set of five quills. They were special quills that never needed to be re-sharpened and re-inked. Two of the five were specifically meant to be marking quills and when used, scratched out red ink. It wasn't much but Harry figured that the quills would be useful for his father.

"Thank you," Severus said quietly. Harry gave an awkward nod. The two sat on the couch for a minute in awkward silence. When Harry could no longer stand the silence, he did the only thing he could think of.

He hugged Professor Snape.

The man initially stiffened but after a few seconds, he carefully wrapped his arms around the small boy. The two stayed like that for a few moments before pulling away. Professor Snape cleared his throat.

"What should we do next?" he asked.

Harry returned to the Slytherin common room an hour before lunch would be served. Blaise was awake.

"You left early," he commented.

"I was restless," Harry replied. "Did you open your presents yet?"

Blaise shook his head.

"It's no fun to open them alone," he replied. "You have a few at the foot of your bed."

Harry nodded.

"I'll go get them and we can open them together," he said. Blaise gave a nod before settling down further in his armchair. His presents were next to the chair as he had brought them down when he had woken up and seen Harry missing from his bed.

Once in the dormitory, Harry slipped his new books from Professor Snape out of his robe pocket and placed them in his trunk. He would look over them later that evening.

Then Harry grabbed his handful of presents. He could tell which of his yearmates had given him what by the wrapping paper and how carefully it had been wrapped. There were only three presents that Harry couldn't recognize.

"More than last year," Blaise noted as Harry brought down his stack of presents.

"My popularity is growing," Harry remarked with a smirk. "You first?"

Blaise grabbed the present at the top of his pile and started to rip it open. After a few seconds Harry joined him.

Most of the presents Harry received from his yearmates were small things, such as candy from Honeydukes or items from Zonko's gift shop. Tracey's parents had given him a planner for the new term. That had been one of the unfamiliar packages in Harry's pile.

The second unfamiliar package was from Hermione. Harry hadn't thought they were close enough to give presents but apparently Hermione didn't think so. Harry would have to get her something the next time he was in Hogsmeade as a belated Christmas gift.

Finally, Harry unwrapped the third package. It was wrapped simply, in brown paper. Blaise was busy still unwrapping his own gifts to pay attention to Harry.

Green eyes narrowed as the paper fell away to reveal what looked like a spare bit of parchment. On top of the piece of parchment was a note.

It's not the original but it works just the same. To reveal what lies under the concealment spells, the password is "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." To hide it from unwelcome eyes, say "Mischief Managed"

S.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sneak Peek for Next Time:

"We're to take you back, are we, boy?" the man demanded. "They tell us that we need to take you back and have you be a waste of space in our home."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reviews are always greatly appreciated!