Title: What Do We Do Now?



Justin looked up from his homework. "The Headmaster wants to see me?"

Ginny nodded her head emphatically, "He needs your help with something."

He set aside his work and sighed. "Fine. Let's go then." He stood up and turned back to look at Ron's sister. "How did you get into our common room anyway?"

"I ran into Leo. He let me in when I told him that Dumbledore needed to see you."

"Oh."

******

Snape moaned into his hands. This day couldn't possibly get any worse. Not only did it seem that Voldemort would be defeated, but it looked like Snape would be directly involved. The only thing keeping him out of Askaban was the fact that the Ministry needed him as a spy. What would happen when the Dark Lord fell?

"Are you okay, Professor?" Harry's whisper came out with a slight croak.

Snape growled, "Mind your own business, Potter."

Harry rolled his eyes and watched as Dumbledore came down the stairs that led to his office. He saw that the older man was smiling. "What happened?"

"I had the opportunity to test the last possibility for the Ravenclaw Heir." Albus took his seat in a dignified manner.

Snape's head shot up. "Who?"

"Miss Weasley of course."

Harry's eyes opened wide. His girlfriend? "Are you sure?" He seemed to realize his mistake and tried to apologize. "I meant… um, I… oh bloody hell." He slumped back in his chair.

Albus smiled indulgently at the boy. "I am quite sure, Harry."

"What could she possibly offer?" Snape mumbled.

"Miss Weasley has always been quite good in Charms, Potions, and in Defense Against the Dark Arts." Albus thought for a minute. "In fact, she reminds me of another such Gryffindor student. A Lily Evans."

Harry blinked, "My mum?"

"Yes. Lily was quite good at the same subjects as Severus could no doubt tell you."

Harry watched his Potions professor closely. His skin had turned an even odder shade of white. In fact, he looked like he was going to be ill. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Albus noticed the same look on Severus' face. "Severus? Are you ill?"

"No!" Snape barked. "I'm fine!"

A cough signaled that the three were no longer alone. Ginny was standing next to Justin who looked uncomfortable at Snape's display. Ginny smiled weakly. "I'll just be going now."

Albus motioned Justin to a seat and called out to the retreating Weasley. "Ginny! We need you to stay as well."

Ginny came back and sat down in a chair next to Harry's. She looked at her boyfriend and then at Snape before returning her focus to the Headmaster.

"Now, I'm sure that Harry and Severus know the basics in this story. It's Justin and Ginny I'm concerned about."

Ginny raised her hand politely, "Um, Headmaster Dumbledore? I'm not…"

Snape answered her, "Yes, you are."

Ginny looked into Harry's eyes and saw the confirmation she was looking for. "Oh."

"If I may continue," at this Ginny blushed. Albus continued, "There was a prophecy that was discovered during Voldemort's first rise to power. It detailed his defeat at the hands of the Founders' Heirs. Four people who were directly descended from the Four Founders." He directed Ginny and Justin to look at the painting of the Founders that hung near Fawkes' perch. "It was said that Rowena Ravenclaw was the author of the piece. She was quite good at Divination, actually.

"Whoever wrote the prophecy, it only mattered to the Ministry at the time to locate the Founders' Heirs. And we managed to identify two of them: James Potter and Severus Snape. Unfortunately, someone within the Ministry alerted Voldemort to the knowledge we had about James Potter. It was then that he went into hiding with his wife and son." Albus nodded at Harry who was listening very closely.

"We all know how that ended. The Ministry felt that it was no longer necessary to try to locate the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Heirs as Voldemort appeared to have been defeated that Halloween night by Harry Potter. I felt otherwise. I didn't know how Harry had defeated Voldemort. And I didn't feel that taking the chance it might not be permanent was a good idea."

"So I continued trying to locate the remaining two Heirs. I took the portions of the prophecy that talked of the remaining Heirs and began to search. I went through the whole of Gryffindor to locate "the one who was of Ravenclaw yet thought to be of Gryffindor." No one was the Heir.

"It finally ended with only one family left. Miss Weasley, when I sent you to fetch Justin, I cast the spell upon you. My congratulations. You are Rowena's Heir." Albus waited for the girl to respond.

Ginny smiled broadly. She guessed by Harry's silence that he was shocked about her being an Heir. "But who was in Ravenclaw?"

"Your father's great grandmother. She was a brilliant student, also good at Divination. In relation to Rowena, Madeleine was a granddaughter, I believe." Albus went back to his seat. He had paced his office as he told what he knew of the story. "Justin, you have joined a rather prestigious circle. Welcome. You are Helga Hufflepuff's Heir."

Justin looked over at Harry and asked, "Is that what you were doing in the hallway?"

Harry nodded.

"Cool."

Ginny smiled at Justin and waited for the Headmaster to continue.

"Severus has not ever known of his status as Salazar's Heir. With his connections and contact with Voldemort, I could never take the chance of alerting him. But now that Voldemort has arisen in physical form, it has become imperative that we strike now."

Snape had been somewhat quiet up until this point. "What would you have us do, Albus?"

"The prophecy does not describe the means that the four of you will employ in defeating Voldemort… simply that you four are the key. I have great faith in all of you." Albus nodded confidently.

"That's all you can say?" Snape mumbled. "You've condemned three children to fighting the Dark Lord based on a centuries old piece of paper, and that's all you can say?"

Albus had anticipated Severus' refusal to cooperate. "Severus, I merely thought that…"

"Did you think, Albus? Did you?" Snape waved his hand at Justin and Ginny. "Those two are innocents, Albus. They have never called Voldemort's attention. He has had no reason to fear them. No, you place their very lives in danger." He glared at Harry. "And Potter… what does it matter that you will soon give Voldemort another reason to want the boy dead? Does it matter to you what people would think?"

Albus waited for Snape to take a breath. He looked at Harry and noticed the surprise on the boy's face. "I am well aware of the consequences of this prophecy, Severus. The last time we were unable to protect one of the Heirs, James and Lily Potter were murdered. I doubt you've forgotten, Severus, because I have not."

Snape groaned in disgust. "How dare you!" He stood up and went to the stairs. "And what happens when it's all over, Albus? Glory or death for the children. And a lowly prison cell for the greasy, evil Death Eater. I won't stand by as you subject Miss Weasley and Mr. Finch-Fletchly to this. And I will never stand for you putting her son in danger again. You try to use her against me. It won't work. Lily Evans no longer haunts my dreams, Albus."

The three children watched Snape storm up the stairs. They heard the gargoyle jump aside and then move back into place. Dumbledore sighed heavily and quietly dismissed the children with a promise to see them later that night after dinner.

Justin led the group up the stairs and waited for the gargoyle to return to its place before speaking. "Why did Professor Snape get so upset?"

Ginny took Harry's hand in her own, "I don't know."

"It was something about my mum." Harry whispered. He looked pale. "Do you think he was there that night? Maybe he…" Harry barely breathed. "Maybe he helped Voldemort kill them."

Ginny looked at Justin pleadingly. She didn't know what to do. She could tell that Harry was scared about what may have caused Snape to blow up at Dumbledore.

The Hufflepuff boy grimaced and patted Harry on the back. "Don't think about it right now, Harry. Snape was probably just moody. Who knows… maybe it's that time of the month." He smirked wickedly at Ginny.

"Yeah." Harry responded. "Sure."

******

"Where are you? You WILL pay for this!" A maniacal laugh filtered down the stairs. It served only to enrage Hermione more. "Do you hear me, Ronald Weasley? I will find you!"

Seamus and Dean were rolling on the floor laughing while Neville stared at Hermione in shock. The reason for his gaze was clear to Harry and Ginny as soon as they entered the common room. Hermione's hair was Slytherin green!

Ginny wanted to lighten Harry's mood and called out to their friend. "Hermione, what happened?"

The brunette turned and glared at Ginny. "That thing you call your brother did this!" She raked her fingers through her forest green hair. "And now I'm going to kill him. Relationship or no. I will kill him!"

"Ron!" Harry yelled. "Have you gone insane?"

A red head of hair showed just out of the boys' dorm room. "Yes!" It was accompanied by another evil laugh. "Besides, it was Fred!"

"No it wasn't! And you know that!" George laughed. He knew his brother was dead now. He decided to save himself. "Come on, Fred. Let's get him!"

Fred and George ran for the stairway. Soon shrieks of pain could be heard from the boys' dorms. Ron came barreling down the stairs and jumped the couch nearest to the door. He then spun around a group of third years and made it to the portrait hole. Hermione took off after him. "Get back here!"

Harry looked at Ginny and started laughing. "Thanks!"

"For what?"

"For having such a bloody git for a brother."

******

Remus looked over the letter carefully. He reread it to himself.

Dearest Rose,

It's been a while since we last talked. Or rather, it's been a while since I even knew you were alive. I wish this was simply a letter between friends, but it's not. I have some certain issues that may need your attention and… Well, someone would have told me as soon as I started this letter that I tend to lie.

It seems no one can escape it; the Marauders, Albus, even Harry. A friend recently pointed out that I lie by omission. I certainly did at Hogwarts, and it appears to be a recurring problem for me. I want to tell you that I just feel the need to speak to you again. And that is the truth. But what I wouldn't be telling you is that the Ministry has split into two camps.

It all started almost two years ago with the TriWizard Tournament. The competition itself went off without a hitch until the Third Task. In the last few seconds, two of Hogwarts' finest vanished by Portkey. Minutes later they returned. One was dead; the other emotionally scarred.

The one survivor told us of a resurrected Dark Lord. Voldemort has returned, Rose. And he brings a period of fear and disbelief. Fudge refuses to see that he has come back to life. Albus believes it whole- heartedly. It is in this that our dilemma begins.

Albus has asked a friend and myself to gather together the last remnants of the Order of the Phoenix. He needs help in battling Voldemort. But this time, we are lucky. We have Fletcher back with us. And Arabella is coming to London soon. I've even heard that some of the more advanced students are becoming involved; students such as Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Justin Finch-Fletchly, and Virginia Weasley to name a few.

And now, to the bones of my letter. I need you to come back, Rose. We need you. I know it hurt you when Lily and James died. And I know that people were not kind to you and your mother about... well, about what happened. I, myself, was not kind to you. And I apologize.

But before you come back, I need to know one thing. What I said to you, all those years ago, do you agree with me? Do you believe me? Did Sirius do this horrible thing? I have had my doubts. And Albus may become angry with me for wording it this way, especially now. But please, did he do this? Did he kill them?

Your friend,

1 Remus J Lupin

He sighed and handed the letter to Sirius. "Are you sure you don't want me to tell her that I know?"

"Yes." Sirius folded the letter and attached it to Fawkes' leg. Remus had borrowed Albus' phoenix to send this letter as an omen. A phoenix telling of the rebirth of the Order. "That way, if she does think I did it, she won't hate you."

"And what if she doesn't believe it?"

"Then she'll come home to beat some sense into you. And I'll be waiting."

"And what about me? What will I be doing?"

Sirius' face took on an angry cast. "You'll be fixing what you broke when you wrote that letter to Harry. It's time to come clean, Moony."

******

"So what's that song?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I just think there was a song in my dream."

Ron grinned, "Maybe it was Bingo!"

Hermione punched her boyfriend in the shoulder. "You should learn to keep your mouth shut."

"Hey! I was just trying to help!"

Ginny giggled, "Remember what happened the last time you helped, Ron." She pointed to his hair innocently.

"Oh." Ron blushed. He decided that another day without any hair at all wasn't a good idea. Fred and George had helped Hermione get him back for her change in hair color two days ago. "Right."

"Besides," Ginny continued. "Harry said it sounded like his mum was singing the song. How much can a baby remember?"

"Thanks, Gin, ever so much." Harry tossed a biscuit at her from across the table. The friends were eating breakfast and were getting ready for the first class of the new week.

"No problem. You know how much I like to boost your ego." She smiled sweetly as Fred and George chuckled.

"You sound like an…" Fred began.

"Old married couple." George finished. They knew how much that annoyed Ron and Ginny so they truly relished an opportunity to finish each other's sentences.

"Shut up!" Harry and Ginny said in unison.

"Can you hum a little, Harry?" Hermione wondered what song it could have been.

"Um… I think so." Harry quickly hummed through the little bit he could remember.

Instantly Fred and George clapped. "We know that one!"

Harry looked at Ron in confusion. The red head smiled, "Yep. Mum used to sing that one. Said she heard it while in Hogwarts. Somebody was singing it in the halls. It may have been your mum. You never know."

Ginny began to sing, "I've heard there was a secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord. But you don't really care for music, do you?"

Harry brightened, "That's it! Keep going!"

"It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift. The baffled king composing Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah."

A loud, deep voice interrupted Ginny. "That's enough, Miss Weasley!" Severus Snape glared at the girl. "If you wish to enhance your meal with song, do it elsewhere! Ten points from Gryffindor."

"But, Professor!" Ginny protested.

"I don't care, Miss Weasley. Good day."

The teens watched Snape walk away toward the staff table at the front of the room. He seemed to be fumbling with the collar of his robe as he took his seat on the far end of the table.

"What was his bloody problem?" Ron growled, "She was just singing."

"I don't know. Normally he never yells at Ginny." Hermione answered.

"It's not a big deal." Ginny smiled at Harry. "At least we know what song it was. Right?"

Ron nodded, "Absolutely! I'll owl Mum and see if she knows where she heard it exactly."

"Thank you. I just… it's something that may have belonged to my mum. Wouldn't it be cool if I could find out where she heard it from? Maybe from my dad or Snuffles? Maybe even Moony?"

Hermione blinked, "Snape's staring at us."

The six turned as one to glare back at the Head Table where Snape was presiding this morning. Fred stuck his tongue out and elbowed George who quickly followed suit. "He's just being a greasy git. He hasn't had any in a while most likely."

Ginny frowned, "Any what?"

Fred and George laughed. "Forget it. You don't want to know."

Harry put his fork next to his plate and reached for another biscuit. He yelped in pain as something dropped onto his head. Hermione bent over to pick up a piece of rolled parchment from the floor as Harry rubbed his head gingerly.

"What the hell?"

Hermione looked at the writing on the roll. "It's from Professor Lupin. Did you write him again, Harry?"

He shook his head. "No. Wonder what he wants now."

Fred and George pushed their plates aside. "Well… as much as we'd love to stay and chat… we've got some pranks to set up. Have a glorious morning!" The twins stood up and made for the door that let them into the main hallway.

"Should we be scared?" Ginny looked at her brother.

"Yes." Ron shot back. "Very."

Harry rolled his eyes and opened the letter.

Dear Harry,

How was your weekend? Mine was a little hectic. Anyway, enough of my procrastination. Snuffles is here with me as I write this. Most likely to make sure that I don't leave anything out this time. What I told you in my first letter was the complete truth. I just left out some things that Snuffles feels I should include.

The first thing that I didn't mention was that your mother had been resorted into Gryffindor. When she first arrived, Lily was a member of Slytherin. Take a deep breath, Harry. Try to remain focused. Lily loved Slytherin. About three months into the school year, Albus found out that she was Muggle-born.

As you no doubt know, being Muggle-born AND in Slytherin was not a very good idea. So Albus and Minerva had Lily resorted. She spent the rest of her academic career as a Gryffindor. She hated Gryffindor with a passion. She had friends in Slytherin. And she missed them. I am ashamed to say that we (the Marauders) despised her.

She represented everything we hated about Slytherin. And then, there were the rumors. Lily's closest friend while she was in Slytherin is someone we (Snuffles and I) both know. Snuffles had always hated him and he let that hate bear upon Lily. Snuffles and James had quite a few ugly pranks they played on your mother simply with the goal of getting at her friend.

Right about now, Snuffles is hitting me. He wants me to be perfectly honest. Lily had an arrangement with Minerva and Albus that resulted in weekly detentions for herself and her friend. They stayed friends for years. Until one day, she hit him in the hallway. James and Snuffles witnessed it. I found her in tears outside of the Fat Lady. She was so angry with him, and she stopped talking to him after that day.

As far as I know, your mother never spoke to him again. I remember though the only time I ever heard her speak about him. It was when Snuffles and I were visiting. We found her singing to you in your bedroom. She was singing this song. It was quite beautiful. All she would say about it was that he (her friend) had often sung it for her.

I knew that what had made Lily so angry was that her friend had become a Death Eater. He didn't have a choice, Harry. He never would have done it if he could have gotten away with it. It's why I put up with so much from him upon my return to Hogwarts three years ago. I forgave Severus a long time ago. And I have no doubt that Lily forgave him before she died.

If you want to know about James, ask Snuffles or I. I was close to Lily, but never as close as Severus was. She loved him as James loved us. When she died, he changed to become the man you now know. I hope you are not angry with me.

Your friend forever,

Moony

Harry set the letter down carefully. It all made sense now. Why Snape had gotten so angry when Dumbledore had mentioned Harry's mother. Why he yelled at Ginny for singing that song. Why Sirius hated him. And why his mother had protected him from the Marauders. He looked up and the Head Table and noticed that Snape was picking at his food. He handed the letter blindly to Hermione before standing up. "I'll be right back."

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny looked on in confusion as Harry picked up his bags and walked out of the hall. Hermione began reading the letter and slowly, everything began to make sense. "He's going to the library. Come on." She grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him out of his seat. Ginny followed them closely.

******

"Excuse me?" Harry smiled at Madame Pince. "Do you have old pictures of students? Yearbooks?"

Madame Pince smiled sadly. "Of course, dear." She guided him to a small bookshelf on the far left side of the library. "Gryffindor… these would have your parents in them." She motioned to a group about halfway down the shelf.

Harry nodded, "I'm also looking for Slytherin books."

Madame Pince pointed to a small section on the right of the Gryffindor books. "Right here."

"Thanks." Harry dropped his bag on a small table and pulled two books of the shelf. One was a Gryffindor yearbook for 1971; the other a Slytherin yearbook for the same year. He set the Gryffindor book to the side. He opened the Slytherin book as Hermione, Ron, and Ginny joined him at the table.

Hermione looked at the book in front of her seat. "You found them?"

"Yeah."

Ginny pulled her hair back and leaned forward. "What are you looking for?"

Harry flipped through the pages in the book until he found what he was looking for. His mother was waving up at him from the first year section of the yearbook. Next to her in the picture was a dark boy who could be none other than Severus Snape. He watched as his mother wrapped her arms around Snape and kissed his cheek. He handed the book to Hermione as Snape began waving at him. "Look."

Hermione watched the picture for a few seconds and then let Ginny and Ron look at it. "Is that her?"

Harry nodded, "Yes. That's my mother."

"Who's she with?" Ron asked. He yelped in pain when Hermione pinched him. "What was that for?"

"For being a prat." Hermione whispered. "So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Harry watched the two people in the picture. "What should I do?"

Ginny pulled over the Gryffindor book and began paging through it as Hermione and Harry whispered to each other. She stopped halfway through the book. "Look." She pushed the book toward Harry.

Another moving picture showed three boys rough housing in the common room. Harry immediately identified his father and Remus Lupin. The third boy had to be Sirius, but it was difficult to see. "What are they doing to him?"

Ron chuckled, "Looks like Snuffles is getting his bloody arse beat."

Hermione smiled and turned back to Harry. "You should tell him that you know. He deserves that much. He was her best friend."

"But he had to have known. He could have stopped it." Harry mumbled.

"Maybe he did the best he could."

"He had to have known, Mione. He was one of them. He should have known." Harry wiped his eyes.

"Give him a chance, Harry. You just might be surprised." Hermione grabbed Ron's arm and pulled on it lightly. "Come on, Ron. Harry needs to be alone right now."

Ron nodded bravely. "You coming, Gin?"

Virginia Weasley looked across the table at her boyfriend. "It'll be okay, Harry."

The boy nodded weakly. "I know."

Ginny turned and followed her brother and Hermione out of the library.

******

Harry crept down the steps and hoped that no one found him. He'd managed to elude the Slytherin students so far. He really didn't feel like getting caught halfway into the dungeons by Draco Malfoy. He leaned against a statue as he tried to see around a corner. A voice caused him to fall to the floor.

"Last time I checked, Gryffindor students weren't supposed to be sneaking around other House dorms, Potter."

Harry looked up and adjusted his glasses. Severus Snape was standing above him with a cruel sneer on his face. "I know, sir. I…"

"Stand up, boy."

Harry used the statue to pull himself up off of the floor. "I wanted to talk to you, Professor."

Snape glared at the crumpled Gryffindor. He pointedly avoided looking at Potter's eyes. "I do not have time for this…"

"Sir! Please! I… Remus told me everything." Harry hoped that Snape wouldn't call his bluff. All that Remus had told him was that Snape and Lily had been friends. Maybe if Snape thought that he knew more…

"My office now, Potter!" Severus spat out. He didn't need this right now. He'd had a headache since finding that Weasley girl singing that bloody song. He had been hoping to avoid Potter for the entire weekend.

Harry followed Snape past the portrait guarding his office. He looked around carefully and was surprised at the lack of green in the room.

"Now, Potter, what exactly do you think you know?"

Harry faced his Potions professor bravely. "I know you taught her that song. I know that she sang it to me." He noticed the look of shock on Snape's face. He honestly must not have believed him. Snape began fumbling with the collar of his robe again. "I know that you were friends."

"My past is none of your concern, Potter." Severus turned away from the boy and picked up a pile of parchment that needed to be graded. "You are dismissed."

Harry sighed in defeat and headed back to the portrait hole. As he reached the opening, he turned back to look at Snape. "Do you hate me because I'm his?"

Severus looked up and stared at the boy.

"Is it that I don't look like her? Do you think she'd want you to be like this?" Harry quickly yelled out before he lost his courage. He knew a detention would be forthcoming for this disrespect. "Do you think that's why she died? So you could be a bastard to me and every other student you come across?"

Severus' whisper was deadly. "Shut up."

"No! She cared about you, and now you're treating her memory with disgust! Is this what she wanted for you? A deep dark cavern that you never come out of? A…"

Severus jumped up from his seat and rushed at Harry. He raised his hand as if to strike him. "Shut up, you stupid boy!"

"Hit me!" Harry yelled at the taller man. "Go on! Bloody hit me! I'm used to it!"

Severus' hand dropped to his side. "What?"

"Vernon hits me. Go on and do it. It won't be any different. It's just that you hate me for different reasons." Harry closed his eyes and waited. He opened his eyes in surprise when he felt Snape walk away from him.

"I don't know what you want."

"I just want to know her."

Severus nodded and sat down at his desk. "Lily was… someone amazing. I found out that she was a Muggle-born two weeks into our first year. I swore that I'd never tell anyone. I didn't want Lucius to hurt her. And he would have." The older man slouched in his chair. "After three months, Lily was resorted. Minerva and Albus thought it would be the best way to protect her from the other Slytherin students. We were both miserable.

"They gave us detentions all of the time so that we could be together. I remember that I used to warn her about your father and his friends. And she hated them, all except Lupin. He never teased her or picked on her. He just pretended she wasn't there. And that was fine with me. I didn't want them to hurt her.

"Then somehow, she found out that your father liked her. I didn't want him to hurt her. I honestly thought it was a joke… a prank. She led Lupin to believe that she was involved with me to protect herself. But I think your mother secretly liked the idea that James Potter was enamored with her. Then over a summer break I…" Severus paused in his story. He took a deep breath and continued, "I was brought before Voldemort. Your mother was heartbroken that… well, that it had happened. She protected me for once in the only way she knew how.

"She hit me in front of Black and your father. I found out years later that Lupin had found her in tears and that they'd made her one of them. I missed her more than anything. I spent years becoming what one normally calls a Death Eater. I didn't see any use in denying what I was. No one cared. Then, the day before she died, your mother came to Wales to find me. I was working in a bar for the money to buy potion ingredients. She told me that she had faked our fight in order to protect me.

"She told me that she and your father were going into hiding. She said that Black would protect you. I assumed for many years after that he had betrayed your parents to Voldemort. It wasn't until his return in your third year when I was confronted with evidence of Peter's survival that I believed Black hadn't killed them. I told her as she left to come back. I gave her a week. Later that night, Malfoy informed me that there would be a raid but that I wasn't supposed to go.

"He told me that they were going to Godric's Hollow to kill James Potter." Severus looked up at Harry and tried not to see his tears. "As soon as Lucius left, I apparated to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and ran for Hogwarts. I begged Albus to believe me. That your parents were going to be killed. By the time he could send an auror, it was too late. The auror chased three Death Eaters away before contacting Albus here. He then sent Hagrid to retrieve you. I'm sure you know the rest."

Harry wiped his eyes and noticed that Snape was also crying. "I thought you had been there with… with them."

"I would have died before hurting your mother and by extension her family." Severus answered. "I tried to save you all that night. In the end, you saved yourself."

"How?"

Severus smiled weakly, "If anyone knew, it would have been Lily. She was brilliant. Something she did saved your life."

"Dumbledore thinks that she protected me with her love."

The teacher snorted in disbelief. "That may be what caused her to protect you. But that is not what saved you from the Killing Curse. I…" he looked closely at Harry. "Your father may have grudgingly saved my life years ago, but it was your mother who saved my soul. She had the ability to fight that curse if anyone ever did."

"Did you ever know me?" Harry asked quietly.

"I saw you once. Black and Lupin had managed to take your father home from St. Mungo's Hospital. I came to see you. I never saw you again until the day you were sorted nearly nine years after I joined the staff."

"Can I ask one more question, sir?"

"Proceed."

"What did she say to you before she left?"

Severus sighed and pulled the chain from around his neck. He noticed that the boy was watching him carefully as if he would miss something. "She gave me this to keep for her." He stood up and approached Harry. He held out the chain. "It is yours. To this day, I don't know what happened to the one Black was supposed to protect. The Ministry most likely took it away from him."

Harry looked at the silver chain and noticed a small snake had been carved in the tiny tag near its clasp. His fingers slipped through the rings on the chain as he stared at them. "Her wedding ring and…"

"The rings Potter gave her. I told her then that I thought it was a silly idea. I told her it was morose. But now," Severus looked down at his best friend's son. "I'm glad I kept them for you."

Harry whispered, "Thank you, sir." He put the chain around his neck and got up from his seat. He went to the door and opened it. "I'm sorry about before, sir. I didn't mean to yell at you."

"I have learned one thing from Lily. All is forgiven." Severus said.

Harry nodded and stepped out of the door. He started down the hallway toward the stairs as Severus sat down at his desk.

"Never again, Lily. That boy will never go back to them." Severus frowned. "I will not let anyone hurt him, not even that damn sister of yours."

******

Ginny looked up as Harry came into the common room. She waited for him to sit down next to her. "Are you okay?"

Harry smiled brightly at his girlfriend. "Look!"

Ginny watched Harry pull a chain from under his shirt. There were two silver rings on it. One had a large diamond. The other ring had five small diamonds on it. "What are they?"

"They were my mum's." Harry fingered the chain as Ginny looked at the rings. "Snape had them."

Ginny smiled, "I'm glad he gave them to you. He could have kept them."

"I know." Harry leaned forward and kissed Ginny on the cheek.

"What was that for?"

"For reminding him of her."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I would think that would scare you. You know… dating someone who reminds people of your mother."

Harry chuckled, "No way." He kissed her on the lips this time. "Besides Freud covered that."

"Freud?"

"A Muggle psychiatrist." Hermione came over and laughed. "He had a really odd attachment to his mother."

Both Harry and Hermione laughed. Ron, who had followed Hermione, looked at Ginny and shrugged. "Must be a Muggle thing."

"Absolutely." Ginny answered and crossed her arms over her chest. "Weird Muggle thing."

TBC