Both Severus and Harry gave each other a long look. Harry really didn't know why Severus was so adamant that he would pretend to follow that snake-faced excuse for a man. It was too dangerous!

Harry huffed and turned away. He felt that there was nothing he could say that would change Severus's mind. And vice versa. He just had a bad feeling that all of this was going to end in preventable bloodshed.

"I'll do my best." That was Severus's short response to Harry's plea for his safety.

"O… okay." Harry got up and headed toward his own bed, Nagini following him. The pins-and-needles sensation in his legs rose up again, and he gritted his teeth.

He laid down, contemplating his mixed emotions. He did understand that the Order needed a spy to get inside information on the workings of Voldemort's inner circle. But, he didn't like the danger involved with the perilous job.

Nagini was oddly silent. She usually talked to him when she could, but this morning, she was hushed. "Are you okay?" Harry asked, concerned.

"Yessss," she answered, but that didn't convince him of anything. However, Harry decided to drop the subject for the time being.

He sighed and shifted around, allowing Nagini to wrap herself around him. "I'm going to try to catch ssssome ssssleep before Madam Pomfrey sssstartssss harrassssing me."

"Okay, Harry. Ssssweet dreamsss."

HPHPHPHPHPHP

When Harry woke again, it was not Madam Pomfrey standing over him.

It was Remus Lupin.

He was looking guilty, for some odd reason. Then, Harry's brain caught up with his eyes.

Oh yeah.

Harry remembered Remus asking the dreaded question - What happened? He wasn't likely to have another breakdown, even if the man decided to ask him that question again. He didn't have any hard feelings against him. Honestly, if he were greeted with the startling image of his face, he honestly would have asked the same thing without thinking.

"Hey," Harry said, and that seemed to break the werewolf out of the trace-like state he was in.

"Oh, Harry! I didn't mean to wake you up. I was just coming in here to sit down for a few minutes," he explained hastily.

Harry automatically detected Remus's hesitance. "It's alright, Remus. I don't blame you for what happened a few days ago. I'm pretty sure that was a one-time-scenario. It was the first time I had been asked what had happened, and I really wasn't ready to think about it." He smiled for good measure.

Remus's face almost automatically relaxed. "I'm still sorry, Harry. I never meant to cause you such distress." He sat in a chair he had conjured on the spot.

Harry stretched as well as he could, with a 100-kilogram snake encompassing him. "What time is it?" he asked, yawning.

Remus cast a tempus. "It's about 8:30 in the morning." That made sense. It was lighter outside than it was earlier.

Harry sighed. I think it's about time for me to give an apology of my own, he thought. "Remus," he started.

"Yes?" Remus encouraged.

"I'm really sorry."

The werewolf looked confused. "Whatever for?"

Harry took a deep breath. This would be hard to get out. "I want to apologize for my idiotic actions earlier this year. If I hadn't fallen for Voldemort's stupid trick, Sirius would still be alive and I know how much he meant to you-"

Remus broke Harry off with a raised hand. "Harry, stop. I don't blame you for what happened at the Department of Mysteries. If I were in your place, I would have believed the vision You-Know-Who gave you also. And, if I have heard correctly, you have nearly perfected your occlumency skills by now." Harry looked down, valiantly holding back tears. "I'm not saying I don't miss Sirius. I do. We had just reunited, and it nearly killed me when I lost him again."

Harry choked.

Remus shushed him comfortingly, laying a hand on his exposed arm. "Sirius went to fight the Death Eaters on his own volition. No one, not even Severus, forced him to go and risk his life. But, as I like to say, life goes on."

Harry let his tears fall silently. He wasn't about to have a full breakdown in front of Remus again. He took a deep breath, and looked back up. Remus was looking at him, seeming slightly anxious but calm at the same time.

Harry composed himself, wiping at his eyes. He was almost sixteen! He didn't need to be bawling over every little thing!

"So," Remus said, leaning back and taking his hand from Harry's arm. "I can hear that your voice is better!" he said cheerfully, at great juxtaposition to the serious (No pun intended) conversation earlier.

Harry suddenly remembered the odd circumstances that led to his voice being healed in the first place. Really, only Madam Pomfrey and Draco Malfoy had seen his awe-inspiring patronus.

"About that…" Harry went on to tell him the story of what on earth had happened. He still didn't know exactly what had happened, but he did have a wild hunch.

Remus put a hand under his chin and hummed. "Do you think it's because you spoke in parseltongue?"

Harry nodded. "That's my idea. I have yet to try any other spells, because of my circumstances," he nodded to his hospital bed.

"Well, lucky for you, Mr. Potter," a feminine, but sharp voice called over from the other side of the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey had emerged from her office and was heading towards Harry and Remus.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"I mean," she said while waving her wand over him, "if everything goes well today, I am going to release both you and Professor Snape from the infirmary."

Harry had a small mental victory dance. As restful as it was, being in the hospital wing was extremely boring, believe it or not. He grinned up at the mediwitch. "Thank you!"

The woman huffed. "Don't thank me yet, Mr. Potter. With your luck, you'll land yourself back in here by next week."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't hold your breath," he replied.

"I don't think I'll even have to."

When the mediwitch walked away, Harry looked back at Remus. He was smiling at him. "It's great to see that prickly lady warm up to someone," he said.

"Huh?" Harry asked, confused.

"Nothing, Harry." He cast another tempus, and then stood up. "Oh, wow. I have to leave in a few minutes to visit the Weasleys."

"Erm… okay, bye!" Harry didn't ask why Remus needed to see the Weasleys at nine in the morning.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Poppy pulled back the curtains from around Severus's bed. Through the gap in the screen, he got a glimpse of Lupin talking to Harry, as if he hadn't sent the young man into a panic attack a few days earlier.

The mediwitch obstructed his view, however, when he opened his mouth to try to get Lupin's attention. She held a finger to her lips, and just then did Severus notice how secretive the matron looked.

"I have something to tell you," she whispered, casting a muffilatio. "And this might change quite a few things." Her voice was back to normal after she had cast the silencing charm.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "What, pray tell, is so important, that you had to wake me?"

Poppy rolled her eyes. "I was wondering if you were curious why the potions that Dursley imbibed worked so well."

Severus looked down. He hadn't thought of that. "Why would a potion work on a muggle? This defies everything we know."

Poppy sighed. "I know. This is unheard of. I was thinking of casting a revelare meidies on him. This would tell us if the boy has any magical powers."

"If he had repressed his abilities, why isn't he an obscurus?" To those who don't know, an obscurus is a magical child that had held down his or her magical capabilities out of fear of retribution… or death. They become very powerful, but confused; they are a danger to themselves and those around them. There were many of these poor children when the Salem witch trials were in action over in America.

The mediwitch shrugged minutely. "I don't know. But I do know that those potions worked on that muggle boy. And, once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable-"

"-must be the truth," Severus finished. "This just seems so unlikely. Have you informed the headmaster of this?"

"I have not," Poppy answered. "I was hoping Albus could shed some light on our conundrum."

They stayed in awkward silence for a few seconds. They weren't the most socially at ease. Then, Poppy seemed to remember something. "Ah. I told Mr. Potter that you both could leave the hospital wing if everything seemed okay."

Severus silently rejoiced. He was worried that he'd have to stay for a few more days. Apparently, the matron was feeling sympathetic towards them. It had been days since Harry had even seen anything of Hogwarts outside of the infirmary. "That is most kind of you," he said, nodding.

Poppy sighed. She waved her wand in the awfully familiar pattern of a diagnostic charm over his body. "It looks like you aren't suffering some long-lasting damage from the cruciatus curse from last night. The salve I gave you worked, right?"

Severus nodded. Then, he remembered a conversation that Harry and he had before the whole incident with the battle at Privet Drive. "Poppy, think back to Harry's fourth year. Remember when you took him into the hospital wing after the third task?"

"Yes." How could she forget? She had the infirmary stocked with everything she'd need to treat wounds from blast-ended skrewt burns, to brutal sphynx dismemberment. Then, the unexpected happened. A competitor died, and Harry was brought into her care with bizzare wounds. A savage cut on the crease of his elbow. Bruises galore. The situation had been explained to her, after the fact. It had taken even her a while to wrap her head around the idea that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back. "What about it?"

"Did you think to check for cruciatus damage on his nervous system?"

Poppy's brows creased, and she looked down. Suddenly, her head shot up, eyes wide. "I don't think I did! How could I have overlooked something like that? I didn't know the whole story then, but after I had, I should've examined him!"

"Hmm." Severus looked deep in thought. "I was just wondering if Dark Magic was at work here."

Poppy looked troubled. "If so, I'd like to know. Tell me when you come to a verdict."

"I plan to."

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry watched Madam Pomfrey exit Severus's part of the infirmary.

"So… will I be able to leave?" Harry asked. He fiddled with his blanket, hoping her diagnostic spell hadn't detected his tingling legs. He just figured that it was the new skin that had been grown over the old, damaged, and burnt skin.

The mediwitch sniffed. "Yes. It seems like everything is… okay." It sounded like it pained her to say that.

"What about Severus?"

"He is also available to leave the hospital wing."

Harry grinned. "Thank you!" he exclaimed.

"However," she said while writing on a floating clipboard, "you need to take it easy for a while. You are still recovering from severe trauma to almost all of your systems." She seemed to remember something, if a sudden gleam in her eyes indicated anything. "Also, you will need to start caring for your cousin, Dudley. I have already informed Professor Snape of this development, and he has already approved. He will be arriving down at your quarters later today."

Harry was silent for a few seconds. He remembered all the times Dudley had bullied him incessantly for almost all of his life. Those times when his cousin had gone 'Harry Hunting.' The jeers and teasing he got for almost every aspect of his being. The physical pain.

Then, Harry remembered how Dudley had changed… how he had cleaned his wounds after Vernon had lost his temper. How he had started becoming his own person, instead of a carbon copy of his father.

"Okay. That's fine."

Madam Pomfrey seemed satisfied with his answer. "Wonderful. Well, get a house elf to fetch some clothes for both you and Professor Snape, and you can be off."

Harry nodded, while she went over to Dudley's curtain. "Dobby," he called, tentatively.

There was a cracking sound, and a small figure with huge eyes and ears appeared on the floor next to his bed. The house elf was looking as garish as ever, with his brightly colored socks and clothing.

"Harry Potter sir!" Dobby squeaked. "I is so happy to be seeing you!" He jumped up onto the bed and hugged him tightly. "Why is Harry Potter in the hospital wing?" he asked, looking up at him curiously.

Harry didn't want to lie to the little creature, so he settled with a bit of the truth. "I got into a bit of trouble with Voldemort, but I'm okay now."

Dobby's eyes, to his horror, began to water. "Harry Potter is not deserving such… such meanness from - from You-Know-Who!" he hiccuped. "He-he-he is such a good person!"

Harry tried to pry Dobby from his torso, to no effect. "Dobby, I have something for you to do."

The house elf blinked, loosening his arms. "What is Harry Potter wanting?" he asked, sniffing.

"Erm, can you please get Severus and me some clothes so we can leave this place actually in nice attire?" He and Severus were wearing hospital pyjamas, and it would be slightly embarrassing if they were to meet anyone in the hallways wearing that.

Dobby drew himself up and nodded. He snapped his fingers, vanishing. Harry sighed heavily, leaning back. That little elf seemed to leech energy out of him. He picked up his wand and dried the large tear blotch on his shirt.

Not too long after, Dobby returned with a large pile of clothing in his arms. "Here- you go- Harry Potter!" he said, giving him the clothing.

"Thank you, Dobby."

The house elf nodded tearfully, and vanished with another crack. Harry stood up and toed his way delicately towards Severus. The tingling sensation really was unpleasant, but not unbearable. He slid the curtains back, and handed the heavy robes to the potions master.

"Here you go," Harry said.

Severus only nodded. Harry retreated back to his bed and pulled the curtains around himself as well, even though there was literally no other person that could see him dress. It was more habit than anything.

Once he got done dressing, he pocketed his wand and emerged with Nagini. Severus was standing by the doors, looking slightly impatient.

They left the infirmary in silence. When they met the stairway leading down to the dungeons, Severus went the opposite direction. Confused, Harry asked where they were going.

"We're going to the headmaster's office. I need to explain something to him, and it would be most beneficial if you were there to hear it as well."

Harry furrowed his brow. What on earth was the man talking about? Was he going to be sent somewhere else?

Stop being so self-centered. Not everything is about you, a nasty voice said in the back of his head. But what if? he replied.

Harry didn't know what to think of Dumbledore. The headmaster was known for being such an intelligent, omniscient being. He found it hard to believe that the wizard hadn't known about his… living conditions. He guessed he still had a bit of resentment left over from the end of last year. He had kept so many secrets from Harry, expecting him to be a quiet little pawn, bending to his every whim.

By that time, they had arrived in front of the gargoyle in front of the headmaster's office. "Cauldron Cakes," he murmured. The creature leapt aside, allowing them to pass.

Once they got to the top of the golden staircase, the door automatically swung open. Harry glanced over at Severus to gauge his reaction. The man looked slightly perplexed, but Harry didn't have time to ask what happened before he was stalking into the seemingly empty office.

Harry glanced around the office, looking for any signs of life. He saw nothing but portraits.

"This is odd," Severus finally said. He was standing in front of the large desk in the middle of the office. Harry nodded, agreeing.

"I wonder where he is," Harry said, sitting down on one of the large chairs.

"I do not know where he is, but I can tell you he was in this room just thirty minutes ago." Severus and Harry's heads swiveled up to look at a portrait on the wall. The subject of the painting looked to be a somewhat sour man that had a sharp beard and moustache. He was wearing robes that were obviously Slytherin, green with silver lining.

"It's rude to stare, you know," the portrait said.

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

The man sniffed, rising from his chair in the painting. "My name is Phineas Nigellus Black. I know both of your names, so don't bother with introductions."

Black. His last name was Black. Did that mean-

"Where is the headmaster?" Severus barked, interrupting his thoughts.

The man - Phineas - tsked. "Now, is that any way to speak to your elders?"

Severus opened his mouth, looking positively incensed. Before anything bad could happen, Harry interjected with a "Could you please tell us where the headmaster went?"

Severus turned to him, looking slightly betrayed.

"Aaah, there are some manners. Severus, you ought to know better!" The potions master clenched his jaw in anger, turning back to the portrait. Phineas looked at Harry. "Mr. Potter. How much I've heard of you… oh, I never answered your question, did I?"

Harry shook his head, speechless.

"I saw Dumbledore in this office with this other man… Remus, I think that was what the headmaster called him. They were speaking of a cursed ring, and how they needed to destroy it to get rid of a soul. This was about twenty minutes ago, mind you."

Severus looked just about as confused as Harry felt. Why had Dumbledore left on a potentially dangerous mission without their knowledge? Why was Remus the only one informed? What on earth were they doing?

Then the potions professor's typical mask of dispassion fell back into place. "We shall be waiting for the headmaster's return. Until then, we will be in my quarters." With that, Severus spun on his heel and stalked out of the room.

Harry stood up from his chair and followed him out of the room. He stopped at the door, turned around, and said, "Bye," quietly.

He practically had to jog to keep up with the angry professor. Nagini, to his slight annoyance, had no trouble remaining by their side. He was almost out of breath when they reached the dungeons. Harry was appreciating the sheer size of the castle as they stopped in front of the portrait of Salazar Slytherin.

"Coulbrid," Severus snarled.

Salazar feigned shock as his portrait swung inwards. "Now, Severus! Is that any way to speak to me, your long-lived friend?" The man in question scoffed and strode into the lounge.

"He's kind of in a bad mood," Harry explained to the portrait.

The man puffed himself up. "When is he not?"

Harry chuckled and shook his head. He had no doubt the potions master heard him, since he heard a "You'll regret saying that later!" coming from deeper inside his quarters.

He walked inside, waiting for Nagini, who had struck up a positively scintillating conversation with Slytherin about various snake venoms. Harry decided to leave them to it and to go find Severus. He had to tell him about his odd spells, and possibly practice more. He glanced around each room (excluding Severus's bedroom, of course. He didn't feel like being pickled in one of the man's potions jars.) He found a staircase he hadn't noticed before.

He tiptoed down the stairs, feeling like he wasn't supposed to be there. He was greeted by a wooden door at the bottom. Harry, scrounging up all of his supposed Gryffindor bravery, pushed it open. Sure enough, he saw Severus standing over a bubbling cauldron.

The room was surprisingly well-lit, with numerous cauldron stands scattered around a large table in the middle. The walls were lined with potions ingredients, some still alive, it seemed. One corner was solely for a stack of various sized cauldrons of various substances. Some were standard pewter, some were solid gold, others were stone.

As if Harry had burst into the room with great fanfare, the potions master spun around, seeming surprised. Then, his tense shoulders relaxed slightly when he saw who it was. He turned around to continue his vigil over the potion.

Harry, taking this as a good sign, advanced further into the room to stand next to Severus. "What are you brewing?" he asked quietly.

"Between the two of us, we go through the cruiciatis salve rather quickly," he responded just as quietly.

Harry hummed. Silence. "Er… once you get to a stopping point in your brewing, I need to show you something."

Severus grabbed something off the table next to him and carefully added it to the potion. "Of what import is it? If it is a matter of life-or-death, or something similar, I could cast a stasis spell over this potion right now. If not, wait a few moments for me to get to a point where it needs to sit for a few hours."

"It's… not that important, I guess."

Severus nodded, and was quiet for a few seconds. "The next chance you get to look at a mirror or any other reflective surface, I suggest you take it."

Harry furrowed his brow, scared to ask him what he meant. He had actually been avoiding mirrors, for obvious reasons. He wondered if his angry, inflamed, red wounds were any worse. He had also avoided looking at his missing limbs, preferring to keep a bandage over where it was worst.

In almost no time at all, Severus was done with the first stage of the potion. He set down his ladle on an indentation in the table, and turned towards him. "What was it you needed to show me?" he asked cordially.

Harry ermed again. He wasn't exactly sure how to explain the particular phenomenon of his spellwork, so he just said, "We might need a bit more open space."

Without questioning him, Severus followed him to the lounge, where Nagini was curled up on the couch, waiting.

Harry stood up on his toes, feeling anxious for no reason. Severus made a 'go on' gesture, and Harry slid his wand from his pocket. Nagini nodded at him encouragingly, seeming to know exactly what was going on.

"You might want to close your eyes," was the only warning he gave before glancing at Nagini and shouting, "Exsssspecto Patronum!" in parseltongue.

Once again, the blinding, searing light tore through the room. Harry felt his skin tighten up with the heat the light was putting out. After about thirty seconds, it became safe to look at the creature that had emerged from the tip of Harry's wand.

Harry peered through his fingers at Severus. The man looked gobsmacked, an expression that was to be reveled in. He had to choke back a laugh at his face, which looked very comical.

Severus seemed to find his voice. "What… what is this?" He tore his eyes from the devastatingly beautiful creature to look at Harry.

"Erm… It's my patronus." Severus looked even more confused, if that were possible. "What I mean is… I just said 'expecto patronum' in parseltongue."

Severus got over his shock and composed his expression. He walked over to examine the stag, looking a bit reverent. "I see. What your trying to tell me is that when you cast a patronus spell, it comes out like this?" He stretched out a hand slowly, touching the animal's snout.

"Yeah. I don't know if this works for any other spells. It also heals wounds. I tried casting this in the hospital wing, and he healed my voice."

Severus hummed, looking at Harry. "He healed more than just your voice."

Harry suddenly remembered his command to look into a mirror. Suddenly excited, he raced from the room and burst into his room and into his bathroom. He skidded to a stop in front of the mirror, and sucked in a breath.

Well, his face didn't look like he wished it would. He still had the faint, white lines 'decorating' his cheeks, chin, and nose. He reached up and untied the bandage covering the burn on his forehead, and saw that it was basically normal, with the scar and faint white lines.

Harry guessed it was too much to hope for to have no scars left. Nagini had said the knife that Bellatrix had used was cursed, and was used to make irreversible marks.

By then, Severus had entered the room to lean on the doorframe. Right behind him, Harry was surprised to see his patronus and Nagini. The expression on the stag's face seemed… apologetic. Sad that he couldn't completely heal Harry.

"It's alright," Harry whispered. "It's not your fault."