Chapter 26

Harry was nervous as he waited a moment outside the door of Ron and Hermione's rooms. He wasn't sure how he would react on seeing Severus Snape again. It is one thing, to know after the fact that Snape had been in love with Lily all those years, and another to confront the actuality. Would they speak of his mother? Would he rant at him and refuse to speak at all?

The sun was due to set in about ten minutes, and he wanted to watch the transformation. He knocked, Hermione opened the door, Ron was sitting in the dining area eating something. Typical Ron, he was always a bottomless pit. "Come in Harry, the show is due to start soon." Hermione said theatrically.

Ron looked up at that statement, even pausing in his eating to ask. " What show is that Hermione?"

"It's a muggle thing Ron." Both Harry and Hermione chorused, laughing quietly.

It got quiet in the rooms again, all three tracking the sun's departure across the lake.

"You have a great view, here. Who knew there were quarters like this in the dungeon." Harry was watching Ron as if he expected him to truly turn into a werewolf yet, even without a full moon.

" Harry, really you were calmer then this when facing Voldemort." Hermione never understood her friends nerves reacting as they did when facing Snape.

" Does it hurt?" Harry was inches away from Ron's face.

" I think you should back away a bit Harry." Ron's voice was slowing and his eyes slid shut.

Harry didn't heed the warning , he was carefully watching for the first sign of the transformation.

He was watching and the sun was sending it's last red and orange streaks across the sky.

First the red hair lengthened, and darkened, the tanned skin lighted at the same time. His face thinned and the nose changed shape to a more aquiline version. The shoulders and body seemed to stretch and ripple into the tall and slim build of Severus Snape. Severus jerked suddenly to his feet grasping for the wand in his hand.

Harry's eyes widened and confronted with the proof of the spell sat down very hard and missed his chair. Snape was younger, he looked to be in his early twenties.

Crumpled at the feet of his former nemesis and feeling very young and foolish, he stood up slowly and addressed the man in front of him. " Thank you for saving Ron, if I had found out he was dead or dying during the fight I can't say what my reactions would have been. I am also glad that you have managed not to succumb to your wounds as well. They were so severe, that I had no doubt that you were dead when we left you there. I apologize profoundly for not getting you medical attention sooner." Harry had rehersed this in advance.

Snape was expecting a great many things when he was to meet Potter, but an apology had not been one of them, " Once again, you were a bit hasty in assuming things about me, Potter."

Harry was still taking in the entire appearance change. " Can Ron talk to me? Now I mean?"

Snape arched an eyebrow and walked over to the wardrobe, casually pulling off Ron's shoes and taking off his socks. " It takes great effort to talk to him in this state, for me to talk to him is difficult at times, what did you need to know?" He shrugged out of his shirt and retrieved a creamy white linen button up while discarding the rumpled t-shirt that Ron had worn all day. " Since I assume you are here due to your wish to see me, just what did you have to say to Weasley that you didn't say earlier?"

" You have Ron's scar on your shoulder. You are younger and your skin is darker then normal- for you that is." Harry stuttered out.

"It was the changes and lack of my own scars that led me to believe we are in Weasley's body after all. No dark mark, no hippogriff scars on my shoulder and no burns from Longbottom's cauldron explosions. Brilliant Potter, what a pity you never used your eyes like this in class." Snape lip was curled back into a snarl.

" His teeth are better too, Harry, look they are white and straighter." Hermione pointed out ever the dentist's daughter.

" Oh , good evening my dear wife." Snape walked around and casually draped an arm around Hermione while never moving his eyes from Harry. His arm snaked around her waist and stroked the underside of her breast possessively causing both Harry and Hermione's face to flame at the same time.

Hermione twisted out of his grasp and walked to the door. " I will leave you two in private for a bit. I have to retrieve our purchases from the Head mistress office, I left my owl with Hagrid to have him check it's health. I don't want any fighting, or cursing from either of you. You will learn to get along with each other. You need to put the past behind you and move on." She looked at both, taking in the coiled anger of the man who was accidentally her husband, and her nervous friend, who just happened to be a hero . Hoping for the best she shut the door leaving them in private. Her plans for Severus would have to wait for now.

Snape went to the wardrobe and pulled out the dragon hide boots, sitting down to put them on. Harry just set trying to figure out what to say next. How could he handle Hermione like that?

" What do you want to know Potter? You look like a first year who has forgotten the way to the Great Hall." Snape pulled out the new wand looking at it much as Ron had earlier. He expected questions on Dumbledore, on the war or even the spell he used with Ron and himself, and for once waited patiently.

" Why did you never tell me you were friends with my mother? Everyone went on and on about James but the only thing anyone but Aunt Petunia ever said was that she had saved my life. No one ever told me about her, well Slughorn said she was his favorite student, but the man will say anything. I don't care that you hate James, I saw enough to understand that- I doubt I would like him myself. You knew her, all these years and you only gave me those memories when you thought you were dying. You only did it to make sure I knew which side you were on. You had to have known I was going to die as well."

Snape's eyes flew up, unguarded for a second.

" Yes I died, but Voldemort acted as a lifeline for me. He ended up dead and I came back, I sort of glossed over that part in the story. I may have missed telling about meeting the Marauders and my mother's ghost and seeing Dumbledore on the other side as well. You grew up with a wizard parent I am sure you know the Deathly Hallows story- the Elder Wand, the cloak and the Resurrection stone? Dumbledore obsessed for years over it, wondering if it were true- and then he saw my father's cloak. I am a descendant of the Peverell brothers from the story. Dumbledore hid the resurrection stone in a snitch he left and Voldemort had the elder wand. Guess what, I WAS the master of death Snape." Harry was at his most dramatic. He was no longer, since he had cast away the stone in the forest.

There were several times that fleeting expressions crossed his stoic face, Snape stood up and walked over to the table where the half full bowl of soup still sat. He knew

"You would not believe the things that Weasley will put in his mouth." open disgust looked down on the cabbage soup.

He took a breath, then another. " So you glossed over bits of your story, both to the aurors and your friends. At least you have friends, mine forced me to kill him, and he was never as much of a friend as he was a user. He used my oaths against me, he used my pride against me and he manipulated every reaction he could get to drive a wedge between me and you. He focused on your resemblance of James and that is why he never mentioned Lily. I grant he had his reasons, but so much of our hatred of each other was manufactured to suit his needs. Don't you think If we had been civil to each other Voldemort could have used it? Malfoy's could have used it and it raised me higher in the inner circle each time Draco ran to his father with tales of my cruelty to you."

Harry knew that Dumbledore manipulated people constantly, it wasn't a stretch to believe it. " Why are you telling me this finally?"

" Voldemort is dead, Dumbledore's dead and if I am to keep Weasley and Hermione out of harms way I will need you as an ally. You have proved your courage, you were willing to die. The old man suspected that you would be sacrificed and that was another reason he encouraged me to hate you. He didn't want me to prevent what he thought was the only way to bring down the tyrant lizard. He was willing to sacrifice both of us to do it. There is no reason I should keep being your enemy at this point. I don't have to like your face, I know you can't like mine."

He walked to the cupboard, pulling out a carafe of brandy and a couple of glasses, he poured them both a glass and raised his to his lips. " I am not your teacher, I think we could both use a drink." His half lidded gaze seemed to challenge Harry to drink. " Your mother was the first to give me alcohol, I wouldn't touch the stuff since my father was a drunk. She just told me I should have more self control. That my father was a drunk because he was weak. I have never been drunk in my life, but it looks like there is a first time for everything.

Harry stared at Snape, was his former teacher, former enemy asking him to get drunk?

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This will be replaced by corrected version, when Beta is back from vacation.

Please review- feel free to tell me where I have committed grammer sins, I already know I am a comma addict.

Happy Thanksgiving, eat all you want and my blessing to you is no calories shall stick.

ps- this is a work of fiction; blessing fictional as well.