Sorry this took so long. I have so much to do now!! Getting over this and making up all the work I missed is going to be... a lot of fun. Anyway!

Shandethe Sanders: Did I offend you? I hope not. When I wrote my response to you, I was a little out of it and so when I went back, it seemed a little harsh and blunt to even me. Anyway. I do make mistakes and if you catch them, you can tell me. I'll change them unless they have a reason for being there. And I finally got to check the spelling of Death Eater. You were right. Thanks for the pointer!

I'm glad everyone is still enjoying this! I'm actually going to be changing this a bit. Not much, I'm only going to add in Draco Malfoy as a minor character. He won't have a large part, but he will be in the story from now on. Your wish is granted, Demeter. I finally decided the story could benefit from his involvement.

Now, enjoy!



Father's gone into the maze. We're alone with him now. Not even that Wormtail remained behind.

Wormtail is a sniveling coward, but at least I wouldn't have been so scared if he was here. If he was here then the dark lord Father reveres so much would have someone else to torture.

Pansy Parkinson is hanging on my arm, whispering how wonderful it s to be given the chance we've been given by his allowing us to be here. I want to scream at her to shut up, but I know she only says it because she is scared too. I also know that if I do ihe/i will hear and then not even my father could save me from my possible punishment.

My friends, Crabbe and Goyle stand behind me. They're a pair of idiots and I only keep them around because of their large size, but even they, with their great hulking bodies, do not calm me this time. I can not take comfort in my own goons.

I shift restlessly, idly hoping my father would hurry up so we can go. I don't like being here with the dark lord and I can't seem to stop feeling a pang of regret for my teacher. I know I shouldn't, he i is /i a traitor, but I somehow find hunting down like an animal very wrong. I wouldn't even subject Ronald Weasley to this.

Well, maybe Ron Weasley...

"Draco Malfoy," the high pitched voice of Lord Voldemort calls, startling me out of my reverie.

"Y-y-yes, Master," I reply as formally and meekly as I can manage. I do not want to die before my teacher.

"If I make you a Death Eater," he asks me, his red eyes boring into my own, "will you ever betray me as he has done?"

I shake my head, bile suddenly rising in my throat. I swallow it back down and wait for his reaction.

"No," he says silkily, a hand reaching out to caress my cheek, "you would never betray your lord. You would never be that foolish.

He smiles a sick smile, as though he knows something I don't. My fear almost turns to terror as I suddenly feel helpless.

I remember when I was little and my father took me fox hunting. I remember the poor beautiful creature we chased down. We finally trapped him in his own burrow. That is where he died, afraid and helpless against his wizard adversaries.

I know what he felt that day now. I wish I didn't.

He turns back to watch the maze again and I step back away from him. Pansy tries to recapture me in her arms, but I sidestep her, shaking my head in a silent denial. She looks hurt, but I find I can't care.



I feel trapped.

I want to go home now...



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Harry stared open mouthed for a moment at the man that had succeeded in catching both him and his professor off guard. He still wasn't quite sure where the Death Eater had come from, but what shocked him the most was the look of fear that had come over Snape's face. Harry hadn't thought it possible for the irascible Potions Master to be anything but sure and confident.

"The ghost of Harry Potter to oversee the death of his professor," the Death Eater said, a smug smile apparent in his voice. "How fitting. And I bet you were his i favorite /i teacher too."

An indignant growl escaped Snape, though it wasn't as effective as it normally was with the look of fear shining in his eyes.

"And was he your ifavorite/i student, as well, Snape," the man asked with a laugh.

Harry didn't understand what the man was talking about, it was common knowledgethat he and Snape loathed each other. Or, at least, they had before.

"You have no idea what you are talking about," Snape snarled angrily. Some of the fear seemed to have been banished from his eyes by the anger; a fact that lifted Harry's spirits greatly.

And literally.

Harry looked down to find himself floating a foot off the ground, his body shimmering brightly in the dark passage.

"Professor," Harry gasped in alarm. His voice shimmered along with his body, making it seem as though he were speaking through the moving blades of a fan.

Snape looked sharply over at him, a look of horror dawning on his face. Harry was momentarily amazed that his professor could actually look more afraid. He was even more shocked to realize that he was the reason his professor looked so afraid.

Harry's shock soon faded, though, as he realized what he must look like to the two men. A kind of sadness passed over him at this realization, but he didn't understand why. It wasn't as though Snape had ever liked him before.

Suddenly Harry grinned as he met the eyes of the Death Eater, who was just beginning to recover himself. Harry lashed his fist out at the Death Eater, a bit of surprise flashing through him when it passed through the man's stomach. That didn't matter though, he still fell back from the blow, hitting his head against the wall and sliding to the floor unconscious.

"Not bad, Potter," Snape said as he took the man's wand from him and used it to bind him. "However, next time, do alert us lowly living people to your intentions the next time you feel like creating a diversion."

"I didn't mean to," Harry told Snape, still flickering slightly. "It just started and doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon, Professor."

Snape looked a bit alarmed at this, but since the flickering was greatly lessened now, he simply turned back around and started back into the maze. With a last glance back at the unconscious Death Eater, Harry hurried to follow.

"Professor, what did he mean when he sa-,"

"Nothing, Potter," Snape interrupted Harry quickly. "Forget it."

Harry fell silent a moment as he surveyed Snape's angry face again.

Harry knew it had been an insult, but for some reason he couldn't understand why it had upset Snape so much. He watched as Snape gave a shudder and murmured curses against the Death Eater. He decided to drop it for now and simply continued to float along beside Snape.

About an hour of silence passed before Harry realized that Snape was pulling ahead of him. He tried to hurry to catch up with the professor again, but found that moving was becoming rather like swimming in through pudding.

"Professor Snape," Harry called, panic beginning to take hold of him as he realized his voice was shaking worse than ever and his body was now flickering madly. "ibProfessor Snape!/b/i"

"What is it, boy," Snape asked irritably as he reluctantly stopped and turned.

Harry knew the exact moment realization hit his teacher as his teacher. Snape's pale face grew to white enough to rival Nearly Headless Nick's and his eyes widened into black pools of shock and, could it be, anguish.

Snape's face quickly fell into a look of annoyed indifference as he rushed forward, his black cloak whipping behind him.

"What have you done now, boy," Snape snarled, reaching out to try and grab him.

Harry thought the hand would pass straight through him, but, amazingly enough, it didn't. Snape's long fingered hand wrapped firmly around Harry's forearm and the flickering began to subside until it had stopped completely. Slowly, Harry drifted back down to earth, his blue glow once more strong.

"The potion..." Snape whispered in awe after a moment of staring at an equally stunned Harry.

"Potion, sir," Harry asked, his mind snapping back to him.

Snape's face twisted into a smug look that told Harry he was proud of something.

"That's right, Potter. You were poisoned, so I mixed you an antidote with my own blood," Snape told him, his voice dripping with an gloating glee.

Snape's face dropped as the remembrance of Harry's current condition hollowed his eyes once more, but Harry didn't notice. He was too busy feeling shocked.

i'Because he loves you. You're his little boy.'/i

The words seemed to resound through Harry's mind as he remembered how much his professor had gone through and suddenly wondered if it could be true. Could Snape really feel as though he were Harry's ifather/i?

Harry looked deep into Snape's black eyes, noticing a small flicker of confusion from snape at the intense look he was now the recipient of. Finally, Harry nodded, deciding that the anguish he thought he could see there was proof enough to warrant his next question.

"Sir, do you really hate me," Harry asked hesitantly, truly afraid of the answer. "How do you feel about me?"



Next Chapter: Fearing the Heartbeat