Disclaimer:  I am playing in a very rich universe created by JKR.  Wish I could be so creative. 

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            September 1st was coming, and the children at 12 Grimmauld Place were getting ready to return to Hogwarts.  Harry had completed his homework and was reading the book Snape had sent with his last letter.  It was a Dark Arts book and very interesting.  The theory was fascinating.  Ron was franticly trying to complete his potions assignment and whining about "Snivellus" being a prat.  Hermione who'd done her assignments early was ragging on him for procrastinating so long.  Harry just ignored it.  He'd tried to get Ron to stop using that name, but Ron liked it entirely too much. 

            The Order meeting after the last letter to Snape had been a mess.  Remus HAD pulled his wand on Snape.  The only thing that stopped the hexing was Dumbledore.  Remus had made it clear he would not work with Severus again, and Dumbledore to everyone's surprise accepted that.  He also made it clear to Remus that Snape had his place in the Order and respect was necessary.  Then the topic changed to Harry's training.  Everyone was furious when the Dark Arts were brought up as a training topic.  Harry didn't understand the reaction.  Voldemort used them, defending against them would be necessary.  And having the knowledge didn't necessarily mean he'd use it. 

            The whole meeting had been one argument after another.  Mrs. Weasley had annoyed everyone there by trying to keep Harry out of discussions.  Dumbledore had told her on more than one occasion that Harry's opinions were valued and that trying to stifle him would not be tolerated.  No one it seemed could come up with any good offensive ideas against Voldemort.  Mrs. Weasley was further angered when Harry mentioned that maybe the twins could help them develop weapons to use against the Death Eaters.  Snape himself had been openly skeptical until reminded of the portable swamp the Weasley twins had set up in Hogwarts and the fireworks they'd set off during Umbridge's tenure as Headmaster.

            Moody had cracked up when the pranks were described and stated such devious behavior would only do the Order good.  All of the teachers and even the Weasley parents had chuckled at some of the twin's funnier pranks.  Molly of course didn't want them involved in the war against Voldemort and made that clear to everyone.  She was surprised and angered when Dumbledore seconded Harry and complimented him on thinking of something so ingenious.  They would be an asset to the Order. Their devious thinking would allow them to develop some very interesting weapons.  Some of the things they'd tried to use the previous summer to eavesdrop on meetings were already being used by the Order for intelligence gathering. 

            Remus and Harry still were not talking.  Harry was furious that Remus was saying the stuff he was about Snape and Remus was furious that Harry wasn't blaming him for Sirius's death.  Harry didn't understand why Remus was blaming Snape for it. And Remus wouldn't say why he did either.  It was just another situation that Harry despaired of resolving.  Ron and Hermione had heard the argument and were surprised that Harry didn't blame Professor Snape.  But Harry had told them that he didn't and why.  They understood that as far as Harry was concerned there was more than enough blame to go around. 

            What Harry didn't tell them was that he was developing a lot of respect for Snape.  There was a lot to be said for the man, even if he wasn't always pleasant.  Snape never lied during a meeting.  He may not know an answer and when that occurred he would say so.  He also did not say he'd do something and then try to get out of it.  If he said he'd do it, it got done.  The man had integrity. 

            Harry didn't like all the Snape-baiting going on either.  Remus telling those "funny" stories had pissed him off.  Harry didn't think they were all that funny and couldn't understand why Ron did.  The twins who'd heard the stories didn't think much of them either.  While they weren't openly crazy about Snape, they did tell Harry that Snape had given them some extra potions tutoring in the past that helped them with their pranks.  They also said when not being pranked or having his Slytherins pranked, Snape could appreciate a good prank.  The girls while they didn't like Snape thought the stories were mean. 

            Mrs. Weasley was getting on his nerves also.  It felt to Harry that she was trying to keep him a child, and he really didn't feel like he was anymore.  He felt like she was smothering him at times.  Then he would feel bad because she was only trying to be a mother to him.  Harry didn't have experience with having a mother; Aunt Petunia had hardly been maternal with him, but he knew he didn't like being smothered the way Mrs. Weasley seemed to want to smother him. She also did not appreciate the Marauder stories going around and had tried to talk to Remus about it.  

Professor Snape for his part found his opinion of Potter changing.  He could no longer view him as an extension of his father and think he was just like him.  The Potter child was showing him by his letters how wrong that view was.  First by his apology, he'd never had an apology from James for anything.  Second, by warning him of Lupin's attitude.  He'd shown concern for Lupin, but also concern that he, Severus would be uncomfortable with the werewolf.  Potter was indeed a very different person from his father and Severus was beginning to see that.  Other things in the letters interested him.  Harry seemed to be growing up and realizing that luck wasn't enough. His concern with training and learning more was something Severus could respect.  He also seemed to be shedding some of the worst characteristics of Gryffindor House.  That alone was enough to warrant a second look in Severus' opinion.

Snape didn't hate Gryffindor; they just offended him with their narrow-minded sensibilities.  He'd always despised the judgmental aspects of the House.  Harry seemed to be shedding that quite nicely.  He couldn't say that for the Weasley couple.  Molly Weasley annoyed him with her strident judgments.  Arthur he could take, but he saw how sometimes the man was just overwhelmed by his wife.  Others in the Order were only minor annoyances.  Lupin's new attitude had surprised him. Like Harry he'd seen the man as the least malignant of the Marauders.  The discord at the last Order meeting had surprised him.  He knew everyone was tired, but the level of discord had never been as high as it was that night. 

Lupin pulling his wand on him, he just chalked up to Gryffindor emotionality.  Snape did not understand just why Lupin would blame him.  Black had always been irrational and impulsive, and his death had been a direct result of that.  Snape had mixed feelings about his death and had thought long and hard about the grudge the two had held against each other.  He understood Harry's grief and in some respects understood the anger Harry had at the end of the last school year.  But the emotions and actions of Lupin he didn't understand. 

Potter was growing up.  And his newfound maturity was something Snape admired.  He enjoyed knowing that while Harry HAD seen too much at a very young age, he wasn't becoming embittered.  Even the curiosity that had so annoyed him in the past was being channeled into something good.  Harry asked good questions.  He was already half way through the Dark Arts book that he'd loaned him and had some very good logical questions about it.  Making arrangements to meet after the beginning of term for lessons Snape found himself looking forward to it.  Something told him Potter would not have too many issues with using the Dark Arts.  That he may not have issues with it didn't concern him.  Snape himself had used the Dark Arts extensively in his Death Eater days and still felt some of the Dark curses and spells were misclassified.  His attitude was not something that he shared with others because so many in the Order and on the "light" side felt that the Dark Arts were evil.  That Harry Potter of all people might just share his attitude surprised him.  Harry's questions indicated an acceptance of the knowledge that Snape hadn't expected.  He was indeed looking forward to the training.  What he wasn't looking forward to was the new school year.  He was worried about Slytherin and the Death Eater children who would be returning.  No decision had been made yet about them.  He worried that no decision would be good in their case. 

A/N   A little something to hold you over here.  I am reading the reviews and listening to what everyone has to say.  I am not used to the personal responses I see in other writer's stories.  Until I started checking out ff.net I had never seen that.  So I don't do personal responses here.  Doesn't mean I don't read the reviews I do.  In some ways I feel shameless in my enjoyment of them.  I would like to thank everyone that has reviewed, as it does feel good to know someone is reading this and not immediately dismissing it as crap.  I think at times the fan community is much more creative than canon.  Then I realize without canon there would be no fandom.  Which comes first chicken or egg here?

Some of you have commented on the demonisation of Slytherin in canon.  That bothers me also, in all 3 of the websites I've done the sorting at I come out as Slytherin.  And I have no issues with that.  As I told a friend who HASN'T read the books, Slytherins are survivors.  What I think in a not so humble opinion is that JKR is writing these books for children and doing a VERY black and white view based on her audience.  We the older fans are just as apt to get irritated by it because WE the adults reading this KNOW that it aint always black and white, gray has a prominent place in the world.  That said I still like the books and I still like playing in her world.  One compliment I am getting is that I am keeping both Harry and Sev in character.  That is very important to me, as I want them to be as close to canon as I can get.  That means a lot to me.  I want to stay as close as I can to JKR's world as I can