as always, I do not own and do not intend any infringement

The rest of the afternoon was a misery for Harry as he anticipated talking to Snape at tea time. Snape studiously ignored Harry during lunch, not glancing his way but of course noting his demeanor. So Lupin had followed through, he thought, watching the youngster squirm a bit while sitting to his lunch. And now he is thinking of seeing me this afternoon. Very good, he deserves to squirm a bit. And then he saw Draco come in several minutes later, looking pale and distracted. Snape's instincts told him that this was more than a reaction to a well-earned punishment, but that something was seriously wrong. He had his hour free after lunch, he would insist on talking with the boy.

Tea came entirely too slowly and too quickly at the same time for Harry. It would be a relief to finally have it out in the open, but he dreaded Snape's reaction. Would he get smacked again on his still sore bottom? Would Snape take his broom? Or worse, decide Harry was more trouble than he was worth?

He entered their living space, and saw the tea waiting for him. He didn't think he could even eat the cookies Maisie had set out for them, his stomach was churning endlessly.

"How was your day, Harry?" Snape asked inanely as he did every afternoon.

"I suspect you know," Harry answered miserably.

"Indeed I do," Snape told him, pouring them both a cup of tea. "Was Lupin too hard on you, then?"

"Ten smacks," Harry told him, wincing and rubbing his backside. "It still hurts a little, but it could have been worse."

"Indeed," Snape answered. "I rather believe it was hard on Lupin as well."

"How long have you known?" Harry asked him, his eyes down.

"From the beginning, Harry," Snape answered smoothly. "Do you really think that you could keep something like that from me?"

"Why didn't you stop it, then?" Harry demanded, feeling angry. "I have been feeling guilty every day for a month!"

"I was hoping you would tell me about it yourself," Snape answered softly.

Harry, guilt staining his cheeks, looked away. "I should have," he answered, deflated. "I should have."

"I was getting impatient, however," Snape admitted. "If Ron hadn't been bit I think you would have found yourself discovered in the next day or so."

"It must have been hard knowing all along and me not telling you," Harry spoke quietly.

Snape sighed, and said, "Harry, I'm a Slytherin. The fact that you have plots and schemes in no way bothers me, in fact I like that you're starting to create plans. I am not some bloody Hufflepuff that gets his feelings hurt because you went behind my back. But when you're doing something dangerous and don't tell me, that's what's hard for me. If this had been something silly and you had just paid the price for breaking school rules, you would probably hear very little else from me. But this was different; this was dangerous."

"Is Ron going to be alright?"

"He'll be fine," Snape assured him. "But that was quite a risk you took, Harry. What if more than one of you had been bitten and incapacitated? What if Ron had been alone? You've taken terrible risks with the people you call friends."

"I feel terrible," Harry told him, his eyes tearing up.

"You cannot lie to me," Snape sighed. "To even avoid telling me something will take occlumency, right now you scream out every emotion you feel. I know the day you started feeling guilty towards me, and I fairly easily figured out what you were up to."

"That's not really fair that you know everything."

"Not everything, Harry," Snape told him seriously. "But I make it a point to know everything about you."

Harry didn't know what to say, he felt cared for but annoyed at his inability to lie to Snape at the same time.

"Yes, well, let's talk about your consequences. What do you think is fair?"

"I don't know," Harry automatically answered.

"Well let's see. You've broken several school rules, been lying to me for a month, snuck out on weekends to check on this egg, and could have been bitten and poisoned were it not for my protective anti-biting spell."

"You put that on me?"

"Of course," Snape rolled his eyes. "And I also had the antivenom flown in from Romania as soon as I ascertained the breed. Do you think me stupid?"

"No," Harry answered, feeling small. Snape had gone out of his way to protect Harry. "Why didn't you put it on Ron?"

"It is a complicated spell," Snape admitted. "I did it while you were sleeping. I figured the antivenom was have to be enough for the others."

"What are you going to do to me?" he asked, no longer able to discuss things patiently.

"I do not think our standard ten with a ruler will work here," Snape told him.

"The cane, then?" he asked quietly, hating himself as he said it.

"One hundred lines," Snape told him. "Maybe that will make it sink in. I want 100 lines of, 'I will endeavor to believe that my guardian will not abuse me.'"

"It's not abuse if I deserve it," Harry whispered, feeling miserable.

"Very well, you can add 100 lines of, 'There is nothing I can do to earn the cane from Professor Snape.'"

Harry's ears turned red, he had deserved that. Now he had 200 lines to do as well.

"I think you are grounded from flying for two months," Snape announced, watching Harry carefully. He knew this was a severe punishment.

"Two months?" Harry echoed incredulously. He didn't know if he could go that long, he loved it so much. He'd almost rather have the cane.

"Unless you have another suggestion?"

"How many smacks with your hand or a ruler would suffice?" Harry asked, grimacing.

"More than you could stand in one day," Snape answered. "And more than I could bear to inflict."

"How about if it were a smack a day for two months?" Harry bargained. "Or two smacks a day for a month?"

"That could work," Snape nodded. "But really Harry, you would rather get two smacks a day instead of losing your broom?"

"I really love to fly," Harry admitted.

"Alright, two smacks a day for a month," Snape agreed. "There is some justice to that, you attempted to deceive me for a month. The smacks will be administered at bedtime with my hand. Starting tonight."

Harry grimaced, but nodded. It was much better than losing his broom.

"Now we have something very serious to discuss," Snape told him as if they had been chatting about the weather before. "I have found out who has made the attempts on your life, and we need to make a plan together.

"Who?" Harry demanded.

"Amanda Bulstrode."

"Amanda?" Harry repeated, incredulous. "But, but . . ."

"I know, she seems unlikely," Snape told him smoothly. "But everything fits. She even had eye contact with you when your broom was being jinxed, and I thought she was just afraid and fumbling around. She has been there for every incident, and has the magic necessary to perform the tasks. But she is also just an older student and lacks the sophistication that it would have taken for success. And she has access to Lupin's office."

"Then why haven't you had her arrested?" Harry asked, shaken.

"Because I believe it is part of a bigger plot," Snape told him. "She is the youngest of five girls for the Bulstrode family, hardly a loss if she were the only one convicted. No, I think this plot has happened with the senior Bulstrodes knowledge and support. There could even be others involved, especially if the Acromantula incident was actually one of her attempts. So we need to plan a trap, one that will catch all the flies."

"How do we do that?" Harry asked, suddenly hungry. He took a cookie and his cup of tea.

"That is what we must decide," Snape told him. "I would like to bring a few others in on this discussion. We will have a meeting after dinner in Dumbledore's office with members of our team tonight."

"Team?"

"Of course," Snape rolled his eyes. "Do you not know that I would take every advantage to make sure that you are safe? And people like McGonagall, the Weasleys, Lupin and Dumbledore are all highly capable, highly intelligent wizards who can help."

"I see," Harry answered, feeling safer. "Hermione, Ron and Draco are trying to figure out who the attempted murder is, can I tell them?"

"Draco already knows," Snape told him gently. "She was attempting to recruit him for her next attempt on your life. She threatened him in several ways, not the worst of which was telling his father about the Dragon, which would have earned him the cane at the very least. He was afraid, but told me everything to keep you safe."

"He put himself in danger to save me?" Harry asked, shocked.

"He did," Snape told him. "I know you two have had your rough patches, be in this he has acted as a true friend to you. And from what I can ascertain he didn't even have time to check with his father first to see what he wanted him to do. So let's also keep that in consideration; perhaps we can protect Draco at the same time. Tonight we will decide whether or not telling Ron and Hermione would be helpful or hurtful."

Harry nodded, too shocked to really believe what was happening.

"And if you start now, you can have your lines done before dinner," Snape told him. "Really, Harry, what must I do to reassure you that I do not intend to beat you? Or wash my hands of you? Even when you're as naughty as this?"

Harry shrugged, and then looked up with his eyes tearing up a bit. "It seems easier to believe that at some point you are going to abuse me or send me away," he told the Professor. "I don't know what to do with you being so nice to me all the time."

"Nice to you, Harry?" Snape answered, incredulous. "I don't think many people would think me an overly nice guardian."

"You made sure I was protected even when I was deceiving you," Harry told him, the tears beginning to tumble out of his eyes now. "You waited for me to tell you. And then you are kind to me and don't even take my broom, even though you know that would be one of the worst punishments you could give me. A mean guardian might even break my broom for this."

"I see," Snape answered.

"At first I was just surprised that you fed me and gave me a room," Harry explained. "But now that seems normal. But it still doesn't seem normal that you would be so kind to me, even when I mess up. In some ways it would be easier if you did beat me, at least it would feel, well . . ." Harry wasn't sure what to say.

"Familiar?" Snape guessed.

Nodding, Harry swiped his tears. "Familiar. You are hard sometimes to guess because you are so unfamiliar. The Dursleys hardly touched me, even to discipline me. They never put me over their lap like you do, they had me bend over the bed or a table. You still discipline me, but at least you don't seem disgusted by touching me. And they didn't care about me afterwards, I was supposed to just go away and cry in my cupboard."

Snape beckoned the boy onto his lap and held him close. "With time I will become familiar," Snape told him softly. "And so will the others. Kindness is actually the normal, not abuse. What you had before was wrong in a lot of ways. But it will take time for you to believe that."

"I want to believe that," Harry sniffed.

"I know," Snape answered.