DISCLAIMER: None of them are mine. If they were I Wouldn't be in front of this computer. I'd be busy with Sev!

Whoa! 21 reviews on this! I am amazed and honored. This is the first thing I have ever uploaded to the web. The Mary Sues on my hard drive are staying there! Since you all asked for it, here goes Severus' answer.

Dear Mr. Potter,
Your letter did surprise me. I wasn't expecting an apology. I expected nothing from you at all. You are right. We don't know each other at all. I know you as a student who doesn't do very well in the course I teach and I knew your father when we were both students at Hogwarts. He took one look at me and after hearing my name decided he hated me.
What you saw and I know what memory it was, was pretty typical of him. He behaved that way until he started dating your mother, and then only refrained from it when she was around. Yes I hated him. Now you know why. I don't know what Black told you when you discussed this memory with him, and it really doesn't matter.You are correct when you scoff at immaturity as a justification, it isn't. What made me hate him even more was the shrieking shack "incident". That was no prank.
Your father's oh so heroic rescue was in reality an attempt to save his friends from expulsion, Azkaban or worse. No I was NOT grateful! Any gratitude he may have gained was lost with his comments immediately after the event. Salt in the wound was how Dumbledore handled it later. The punishment should've been much harsher than 25 house points and 2 weeks detention.
Curiosity is the reason you give for looking in my pensieve and curiosity if channeled properly; is not a bad thing Potter. If you used it in your studies it would be a good thing. I do believe it is the reason for some of your adventures; the chamber of secrets comes immediately to mind here. Curiosity can answer many questions; it can also cause a lot of pain. You may wish to remember that.
You said you were angry with me at the end of the year, for the failure of our lessons in occlumency. The failure was on both our parts Potter. I understand anger though and perhaps you realize I wasn't whom you should be angry with. Only recently have I found out how little you knew of what was happening last year. For that I am sorry, it was wrong not to tell you anything. You should've been told perhaps you would have tried harder with occlumency if you'd known.
I won't be attempting to teach you occlumency again. I have recommended to Dumbledore that he teach this skill to you. I may have the skill but I do not the desire to teach it. I don't care to invade your privacy that way. Yes you did get into my mind. You have the power should you master this skill to be very capable of "mind reading" as the muggles call it. I stopped the lessons precisely for that reason, you were learning how to invade my mind but not how to guard your own. It usually works the other way around Potter.
I never understood why Albus had you placed with your aunt and her family. I do believe he made a mistake there. You are right when you think I thought you spoiled. I did, and I was wrong. Your own memories show you weren't. I know Albus has spoken to you of the blood protection your mother gave. They told you nothing of magic or the wizarding world? If so the confusion you spoke of on your first trip to Diagon Alley is understandable. I've often wondered what the muggleborns felt when they encounter our world. I never asked.
Your attitude in your letter towards your fame is.refreshing. I have seen in the last five years your reaction to it and admit to being wrong about it. You don't seem to glory in it at all. If anything you seem to hate it. Fame as you've seen can cut you both ways. You are right when you say it was something your mother did. Most people would prefer not to think of that, much easier to put the adulation on a living breathing boy hero rather than his dead mother.
Perhaps we both made judgments about each other with little or no information. I know when I first saw you, I saw your father. You did resemble him greatly. It is only as you get older that I see more of your mother showing in you. You are right you aren't James. James would've have told all of his friends about both memories of mine that you now possess. That you spoke to Black and Lupin concerning it, yes he told me about it, is understandable. Both of them were there at the time. Their justification doesn't ring true to me either. I don't think you would behave like that. I know how young Malfoy is, and how he behaves.
That you don't wish to rely on luck is perhaps one of the smartest things you have said Mr. Potter. You will need skills you don't yet have to live through this. And while I am not willing to teach you occlumency perhaps I may end up teaching you something else. I would be willing to work with you again in the future should that be needed. You are correct when you say we were lucky at the Department of Mysteries. Luck doesn't last forever and you are right when you say there is more than one kind of luck.
The prophecy should have been explained to you along time ago. I was shocked to find out that it wasn't. I understand Dumbledore's reasons but they were wrong. You had every right to know about it. I suspect some of your anger at the end of last year was about that also. I am glad you have let Dumbledore know you are still having dreams. There are some potions that may help you there. I am enclosing some with this letter. Follow the directions and let me know what works and what doesn't.
Do not expect my public behavior towards you to change when you return to school. I too have a role to play in this war and cannot be seen as softening towards you in any way. Too many report back to other "masters'. I hope your summer goes well also.

Sincerely,

Severus Snape