A/N: This is it guys, the end of Year 1, next is Year 2. Thanks as always goes to my beta YenGirl, who I promise I will have more Hedwig. Also a quick reminder, I do have another account on Archive Of Our Own (AO3), it's under the same username yaoigirl22, check it out if you're curious, it's also where I plan to post my more, daring stories if you want to call them that very soon.

Internet cookies for anyone who can spot the movie quote.

Enjoy, and don't forget to Tell Me What You Think.

Blooming Flowers

Behind The Door

Severus's disappearance was noticed despite the Professors' best efforts, and more than once the Snape siblings were cornered by Slytherin students (and non Slytherin students) asking about their father. Neither were sure what they told the students, or the Professors who spoke with them, or what the excuse was for why Professor Quirrell was also missing. And honestly they didn't care as their thoughts were elsewhere.

Finding Severus.

"What if," Draco spoke up, "getting in isn't as hard as we think it is."

Three pair of eyes looked in his direction.

"What do you mean, Ray?" Hermione asked.

"I mean, what if it's just a simple unlocking spell, and we're just making it complicated because it's off limits."

"... that would actually be really smart." Hermione said after a long surprised pause.

"Guess we can give it a try, but let's have a Plan B," Harry said.

~.~

Turned out, Draco was right. Unfortunately for them, it also meant they had to deal with Fluffy. Fluffy was huge, filling the whole space between the ceiling and floor. It's three heads were staring in their direction, three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.

"Did we ever have a plan for Fluffy?" Ron whispered.

Fluffy hadn't moved, most likely surprised by their entrance.

"No," Hermione whispered back, eyes big when there was a sudden rumbling.

None of the four moved, Harry blindly groping for the doorknob, freezing in terror when the middle head shot toward them.

"No!"

There was a sudden yelp and the head reared back. All three heads showed surprise, the middle head's nose stinging from the smack.

"No!" Draco said again, pointer finger waving at them. "Bad Fluffy!"

To the other three children's surprise, Fluffy whined and lowered its heads.

"Sit," Draco said.

Fluffy sat, tail wagging when the Malfoy heir praised him. After a cautious moment, Draco was scratching under the middle head's jaw while his friends petted the other two heads.

"We have to go," Harry said when he spotted a trapdoor.

Draco nodded.

"Fluffy," he said to the Cerberus, "we have to go now, be a good boy, and watch the door for us, okay?"

A large tongue was his answer.

"Aww," Hermione coo'ed, as she, her brother, and Ron started for the trapdoor.

Covered in drool, blond hair sticking up everywhere, Draco glared at her before wiping his face. Then with one last pet to each wet nose, Draco followed his friends down... and landed on something soft. Feeling around, as it was too dark to see anything, it felt like he was sitting on a plant... a plant that was suddenly wrapping around his ankles.

"It's Devil Snare!" Hermione yelped, smacking away a snakelike tendril which didn't do any good.

"What do we do?!" Ron tried kicking out which didn't work either.

Draco was currently busy trying to keep the plant from curling around his neck.

"I don't know!" Hermione was panicking.

Meanwhile, Harry had gone still, green eyes taking on a glazed look. When he spoke, it was with a dreamy, distant like voice.

"Hush now," he said, gaining everyone else's attention with his free hand petting the plant. "We are not a threat. We do not wish to harm, or steal."

"Harry?"

Harry said nothing to his sister, just continued petting until finally the plant uncurled from the boys, and Hermione. To their surprise, the plant set them on their feet, and then with a pat on each head, settled back down.

"Wow," Ron said after a long moment, staring at Harry who was blinking rapidly whether from the oddness that had happened, or the bright light coming from Hermione and Draco' wands, Ron wasn't too sure.

"My head feels funny," Harry mumbled.

"That's because you did something with your trick," Draco said, watching his friend with worried eyes.

"Oh," was the soft reply as Harry rubbed at his head.

"We have to keep going," Hermione said, looking worried, and unsure of actually continuing when her brother wasn't feeling good.

"Let's go," Harry said, deciding for her and started walking ahead.

The others followed, the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls the only sound aside from their own footsteps.

"So," Ron said as they carefully made their way down the sudden sloped passageway, "say we find the Professor, and but we also find something bad. What do we do?"

"Grab Uncle Sev, and run like hell."

"…..Well, it's a plan."

"Did you hear that?" Hermione suddenly whispered, stopping.

The others listened. A soft rustling and clinking sound seemed to be coming from up ahead.

"Sounds like wings."

"There's light up ahead."

They reached the end of the passageway, and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-like birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.

"They're keys," Harry said, eyes watching them fly around, "winged keys. So that must mean one of them has to open the door."

"But there are hundreds of them!" Hermione exclaimed. "And we don't know even know which one."

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one."

Harry, Hermione, and Draco blinked, and looked across the room to the door. Ron had gone over and was examining the door.

"Probably silver," he called over to them, "like the handle."

"Great, but how are we going to get up there?" asked Draco. "Oh," he added once he spotted brooms leaning against the wall.

"Well, up we go," Hermione mumbled, looking uncomfortable. She was not fond of heights.

"I see it!" Harry said suddenly.

"Me too!" Draco exclaimed.

Up in the air they go, Draco, and Harry weaving through the cloud of keys with a natural grace, and racing towards one particular key. A large sliver key with a bent wing, as if it had already been caught, and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.

Draco reached it first.

"Jellybeans," he cursed when the key swirled quickly out of his reach despite its broken wing.

"I'm telling," Harry tattled as he flew by his friend, chasing after the key.

"You better not!" Draco followed.

The two chased the key lower, toward Hermione who was hovering and waiting.

"Dang it," the girl huffed, when the key did a sharp turn as she grabbed for it.

Harry was able to herd the key back in Draco's direction, who chased the key, snatching it, and nearly falling off his broom in the process. Once on the ground, Draco unlocked the door, and the children stumbled into the next room.

The next room was dark, but as soon as Ron took a daring step, light suddenly flooded the room, revealing an amazing sight.

They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessman. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces.

"Why couldn't it have been poker," Hermione groaned when it became obvious what they had to do.

"Well, I guess you can't say they didn't have this place well protected," Draco mumbled.

Meanwhile, Ron walked up to a black knight, curious as to how they were to play with these large pieces, a spell perhaps. He touched the horse, and at once, the piece sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.

"Erm," Ron said nervously under the stare," do we have to join you to get across?"

The knight nodded.

"I want one." Draco said, while Ron thought.

"For what?" Hermione asked, while Harry looked curiously at his friend,

"Guys, listen," Ron interrupted, "we got to take the place of four of the black pieces. Hermione, you take the place of the rook, Harry, you take the place of the bishop, and Draco, you take the other rook. And I'll be the knight."

The chessmen must have been listening, because at these words, two rooks, a bishop, and a knight had walked off the board, leaving four empty spaces, which the children quickly filled.

"Alright, white goes first."

A white pawn moved forward two squares, and the game began.

It was a tense game as the children knew that if this was exactly like wizard chess, it was going to get gruesome real quick. They were proven right when their other knight was taken. The queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, face down.

"Okay," Ron said, looking a little shaken, "Hermione take the bishop."

Back and forth they went, the white pieces showing no mercy. Ron kept his friends as far from danger as possible, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones himself.

"Nearly there," he muttered, "let's see, erm, oh!"

"Ron," Draco suddenly said, "I don't like that look on your face."

"Gonna like what I'm about to do even less." Ron thought, before speaking, "Harry, after this turn you'll be free to checkmate the king."

"No!" Harry and Hermione exclaimed in realization at what he was going to do.

"It'll be fine," Ron reassured, looking everything but.

"Ron—"

"We came down here to stop whoever from taking the stone, and more importantly, help your dad."

There was no alternative.

"Alright, here we go. And don't hang around once you've won."

Ron stepped forward and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor. The white queen dragged Ron to one side.

He wasn't moving.

Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left.

The white knight took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. All three went over to Ron, carefully Hermione rolled the boy over onto his back.

"He's breathing," she sighed in relief.

"I'll stay with him," Draco said, making a face at the blood trickling down from his friend's head. "You two go ahead, two is better than none."

After a moment, Hermione, and Harry nodded, then together they went through the door. A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making both of them pull their robes up over their noses.

There was a troll, even larger than the one their Dad had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.

"At least we didn't have to fight it," Harry said, stepping over one of its massive legs.

He pulled open the next door, both very much nervous. Inside was seven differently shaped bottle standing on a table in a line. They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a purple fire sprang up behind them in the doorway, at the same instant black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.

Hermione found a roll of parchment lying next to the bottles and read it.

"Alright," she then said, "so one bottle with get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple."

"So which one is it?"

"Mmm, give me a minute." She read the paper several times, examined the bottles, muttered to herself, until finally she looked at her brother.

"I got it! The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire, and to the Stone, and hopefully Daddy."

Harry looked at the tiny bottle.

"It's not enough for two," he said, he's quiet for a moment, "which one will get you through the purple flame?"

His sister pointed to the rounded bottle.

"Alright, you drink it and get Ray, and Ron. Grab the brooms from the flying-key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor, go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Papa and an owl to the Headmaster if I'm not back in an hour."

Hermione obviously didn't like her brother's plan, but she didn't object. Instead she wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him tight.

"Be safe."

Harry hugged her back. "I'll try my best."

After making sure his sister had gotten through the fire, Harry drank the small bottle and made his way through the black flame, and into the last chamber.

"Hello, Harry."

~.~

"Professor Quirrell," Harry said.

"Was wondering when you'd show up," Quirrell hummed.

Something was off about the man, the way he spoke, and stood. Like he was a different person entirely. It was important, the child knew, but he couldn't have cared less about it. He was more focused on the body laying at the Professor's feet.

His father.

"No, no," Quirrell tsked when Harry started moving forward. With a snap of his fingers, rope sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry who fell to the ground with a thud.

"I can't have you interfering at the moment so be a good boy, and stay right there."

Harry wiggled, and tried to get loose. Nothing.

"Why?" He then asked, looking at his father and was relieved to see him breathing at least. "Why do you want the stone?"

"Why you ask?" Quirrell hummed as he turned to a mirror that Harry now noticed. "It's simple really, I need it. Need it to revive, give me life."

Harry's brows furrowed. Life?

"And this mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell mumbled, tapping his way around the frame. "Of course Albus would come up with something like this, he's always been a tricky one."

"What did you do to my Dad?" Harry asked, hoping to keep Quirrell talking as he currently didn't have any other plan, aside from getting loose.

"Just knocked him out." Quirrell came back out from behind the mirror, and looked down at Severus. "Would have killed him, but figured he'd be of use to me….as would you."

Harry's heart started to race when the man stepped over his father, and toward him. "Especially you." The child froze when a hand petted his head. "Sweet child."

Harry shivered in disgust at the purr.

"All that power, it's what drew me to you the first time."

"First time?"

"Don't you remember? I'm the reason for your scar, quite fetching really."

The man's eyes were not right, very not right.

"W-Why, do you need life?" Harry said after moment, hoping to draw the man's attention away from him, the information told to him being pushed back for now.

"For revenge!" Quirrell snarled, eyes flickering from dark brown to pale blue, then back to brown. "Revenge for what had been done to me! He will pay, I'll make him suffer, take everything from him!"

While the man talked, Harry focused. It took a moment to push pass the panic and fear, but he finally felt that familiar tingle of Hogwarts's magic.

"Please," he thought, unaware of his eyes going dazed, "help me."

The ropes came undone.

"Wha—" Quirrell let out a surprised oof when suddenly he was thrown off his feet, landing hard on his back, the ropes wrapping around him instead.

Rapidly blinking, Harry saw the man down and shot up to his feet. He hopped over Quirrell, and ran to his father.

"Dad," Harry kneeled, shaking the body. "Dad, come on, wake up!"

Focusing on his father, Harry didn't see Quirrell get free.

"So, you have a few tricks."

Harry looked over his shoulder and gasped. Quirrell's face was different, pale, and distorted, like something had tried, and failed to merge with the man properly.

"Doesn't matter, you may have the power, but you have yet to figure out how to tap into it fully."

Gulping as the man drew closer, Harry closed his eyes as he once again tried to focus, hands gripping his father's robe tightly.

"Pleasepleasepleaseplease!"

His arm was suddenly grabbed, and he was being pulled away, away from his father. "No!"

There was a sudden intense heat and pained screaming, and then he was let go. Cautiously, he opened an eye. Quirrell was sprawled on the floor, his robes were singed, skin horribly burnt, and making a weird wheezing sound.

Carefully, and not taking any chances. Harry took out his wand, stood, and made his way over. Wrinkling his nose at the horrid smell that intensified the closer he got, when he finally was as close as he dared, he found the man's face as horribly burnt as the rest of him, with eyes swirling to stare. Right. At. Him.

Harry froze, his own eyes staring in horrid fascination. He raised his wand when Quirrell's mouth opened, but to his surprise it stretched in a smile... or looked like it tried to.

"T-T-T—" Quirrell wheezed painfully, and his eyes rolled back for a moment, "T-Thank y-y-you—I—I—F-F-Free."

Quirrell was dead.

Harry stood there, shocked, and very much confused. He jumped when the body suddenly turned to ash that spilled out of the robes, and over the floor.

"Wha—"

Harry never got to finish his thought, as there was a sudden and horrible shriek, and a white thing speeding toward him. Panicking, he raised his arms to shield himself.

All he remembered after that was a bright color, a loud rumble, and Hogwarts's warm magic.

~.~

When Severus woke up, it's to one of his children and a Weasley in hospital beds beside him, and a lot of yelling.

"Oh, you're up!"

Severus's eyes went a little crisscross as he tried to follow the familiar hand, and wand moving all around.

"No fever, concussion gone, sprained ankle still needs to heal," Pomfrey muttered to herself, before she helped him sit up properly and settled a cup of water in his hand. "Drink, slowly."

Severus does as instructed. Experience with Jacob taught him doing anything other than what a Medi-wizard said would result in disapproving expressions at best, or tied to the bed at worst.

Speaking of which...

"How long has Jacob been yelling?" Severus asked, voice scratchy, he drank some more water.

"Since he got here I think, Albus looked rightfully scared."

"Has he used curse words?"

"Erm, no, in fact, he's been saying using words like Chocolate Frog, and such. It's the oddest thing."

"Then Dumbledore is safe."

"Hmm, not sure," Pomfrey hummed as she fluffed up his pillow. "The Malfoys are with him, along with Lupin. You keep very interesting company."

"So I've been told." Severus looked to his left where Ron was awake and eating and then at Harry who was also awake and looking at the direction where the yelling was coming from. Upon noticing his father awake, Harry broke out into the brightest of smiles.

"You're up!"

"Oh no, you don't young man," Pomfrey tsked, stopping him when he tried to get out of the bed.

Harry laid back down, smiling up at the her. Pomfrey rolled her eyes before turning to leave, most likely to tell Jacob to lower his voice. She left Severus alone with his son, and Ron, but before he could say anything, Jacob, the Malfoys, and Lupin were there. With Albus close behind.

"I still have words to say to you," Jacob pointed to Albus, before turning his attention to Severus. "How are you feeling?" he said checking him over, "say 'aah'."

"Pomfrey already—" Albus began, stopping at the look Jacob gave him.

"I'm fine as can be Jacob," Severus waved away the man's probing hands, "can someone explain what happened."

So they did, Albus doing all of the talking, with side comments from the adults. Harry, and Ron looking properly chastised when the Headmaster got to their part and Severus narrowed his eyes at them.

"What happened in the chamber, was a secret. So naturally everyone knows, thus those." Albus titled his head.

Severus followed his gaze and blinked at all the pile of sweets on his nightstand. He hadn't noticed them earlier.

"Apparently you have become a hero to the students."

Severus groaned. That's the last thing his reputation as the most feared Professor needed.

"I believe Misters Fred, and George had tried to give you….actually, I don't know. But Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have it. The children have also gained a few admirers."

"That's a concern," Severus said. He did not want to know what those two had been up to.

"Quite," Albus chuckled, before continuing on with his story. Harry's expression twisted into…something, when Albus mentioned how Quirrell had been defeated.

"So he didn't get what he wanted before he... died," Severus said once the man was done.

"No." The look in the elderly man's eyes said that the mirror was no longer in the castle.

Severus hummed, "I see."

After that, they talked more before Pomfrey shooed them away, stating that they needed rest. Severus, and the children were bid goodbye, and left alone.

"Sooooooooo," Harry said after a long pause, "how much trouble are we in?"

"Black Lake deep in trouble."

"Yeah, figured that."

"What you did was very dangerous."

"But—"

"You, your sister, and friends could have been killed."

Severus didn't raise his voice, but may have as well been judging from the boys' expression.

"What were you thinking!?"

"But you were in danger!" Harry blurted out, tears swelling up in his eyes once it finally hit him that he could have lost his Dad, and he and the others could have been killed. "Y-You d-disappeared a-and—" his voice hitched, and the tears fell.

In his bed, Ron looked awkward, uncomfortable, and pale as though it too finally hit him.

Face softening, Severus got out of bed and went over to Harry. Without a word, he settled on the bed and placed his son on his lap. Harry clung to him, burying his face in his father's chest and wailed.

Severus held him, letting him cry, rubbing a comforting hand up and down his back. Murmuring soft words, they stayed like that for no one knew how long, though Severus was aware of Pomfrey quickly and quietly checking on them.

"Alright now?" Severus then asked when Harry finally pulled away with a sniff, leaving tears and snot on his father who didn't care.

"Kind of," Harry sniffed again.

Severus ran his fingers though the unruly hair, before resting his chin there.

"Promise not to do it again?"

Harry nodded.

"And you and your sister are still in trouble."

"Okay."

"And I promise not to disappear like that again."

"Really?"

"Really, really."

Harry giggled wetly.

"You too Mr, Weasley." Severus then said, turning to Ron. He frowned at what he saw, after dislodging himself from Harry, he went over to Ron.

"Are you alright?" he asked placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Y-Yeah," Ron stuttered out.

Obviously he wasn't. Sitting down on Ron's bed, Severus pulled him into a hug. Ron went tense and then, he cried as well.

Severus held him through it, and after.

Later that night, after visits from Hermione and Draco who obediently sat through their scolding, and promised not to do anything dangerous like that again, a visit from the Weasley twins -who successful snuck in their gift for Severus, and a golden toilet lid for Harry for some reason- and Percy whom Ron spent a long time clinging to, and they him. Jacob, Remus, and the Malfoys leaving after scolding all three of them, and Pomfrey magically extending the bed, after Harry had puppy-eyed her into doing it.

Severus was reading a book, using the lit candle on the stand to his left for light. To his right, Harry, and Ron were dozing off.

"Erm, Dad?" Harry said softly, voice thick with coming sleep.

"Hm?" Severus answered, not looking away from the book

"I forgot, but, what do I do with this?"

Severus turned his head in his son's direction just in time to see the boy pull out something from underneath his pillow. Dark eyes went comically wide as they stared at the Sorcerer's Stone.

End Year 1