A/T: Just a few notes here and there:

To biggerstaffluver: Yes, it will be one of those "gay stories". But it'll be a sweet "gay story", so don't run off before it's finished! A piece of advice: "Slash" is the correct reference. I'm utterly offended. grin Thanks for reviewing!

And thanks to you all! The reviews are ego boosters! Especially Sara, who seemed to really like it.

Alley of Dreams
Act 4: If Walls Could Talk

"Harry! Harry, my boy, how wonderful it is to see you again!" Harry blinked in surprise and turned around, Cedric by his side. Harry knew that voice. That voice that had gotten him out of countless situations that otherwise might have gotten him expelled from Hogwarts.

He smiled. "Hello, Headmaster. How have you been lately?"

"We're both adults now, Harry. I should think it was about time to just call me Albus. And everything's been going quite well, thank you for asking."

Harry nodded while Cedric stared up at the old man, his head tilted a bit.

"Is your beard real? 'Cause it's real long. You know, I've never quite seen a beard so long." A pause floated between the three of them before Dumbledore raised two bushy eyebrows, observing the young man over his half-moon spectacles.

"Now, what do we have here?"

Harry laughed softly. "I... well, he's my son. And he asks a lot of questions, so don't mind him too much."

Albus chuckled softly. "Takes from his father, I suppose. And look at those eyes of his, hm?" He then turned his attention towards Cedric. "And what's your name, if I may inquire?"

"Cedric R. Potter, sir."

Albus Dumbledore's sky blue eyes flashed with something for a moment, something Cedric secretly knew was sadness, loss, and too many years of war. Why was it that his name did that to people?

"I see. And are you hungry, Cedric? I can offer some of the finest lemon drops acquirable or get a house elf to bring you something. We've anything you may have the taste for."

Cedric managed a small nod. "Very hungry... Dad gave me a Snickers bar for breakfast. He says sugar doesn't hold for very long, but I think he forgot."

Harry turned red at his son's confession, once again realizing how poor a father he was. "Of course," he said, quickly, "We were in a very big rush, weren't we? We almost missed the train, in fact." He laughed nervously. "But he's proper weight and isn't starving, so he's doing pretty well when it comes in terms of food. Of course, he's eating me out of house and home. I'm stopping at the grocery, what? Three? Four times a week?"

Cedric wrinkled his nose, trying to ignore this. "Dad!" he whined, playfully hitting his arm. "That's so not true!"

Albus laughed jovially at this, shaking his head in amusement. They had managed to wander themselves into the kitchens, where steaming pots of all different types of food were cooking over enchanted ovens. A house elf with fringed ears quickly appeared with a large plate with a little bit of everything.

Cedric grinned happily. "Does everyone get fed like this?" he asked, obviously enthused about the meal. Harry nodded.

"You bet. In fact, Auntie Hermione and Uncle Ron and I used to sit right over there at Gryffindor table," he pointing towards the corner of the empty Great Hall. "Now, Headmaster Dumbledore and I are going to a few classes. Get a house elf to show you around, okay? I'll be back in a little while. Don't get lost and make me hunt you down."

Cedric nodded. "Okay Dad. I'll see you later. Good luck with your classes."

Harry waved before turning with Albus, making their way down the hall towards the Quidditch field in a few moments of silence. Finally, "Cedric has spirit. That's a good quality, Harry. Reminds me of you when you were a student. He has your eyes. Your mother's eyes."

Harry nodded. "Thanks. I'm really proud of him; he's so much more mature than some of his classmates. But he's attached himself to the most impossible person. You wouldn't believe it if I told you."

Albus chuckled again. "A Slytherin, I presume?"

"Hit it right on the head." Harry couldn't fight the blush that rose to his cheeks. He suddenly found the trophy room unusually fascinating and he stared at the awards, always sparkling gold and silver in the light.

"It was Professor Snape, actually. Can you believe it? Severus found him in Diagon Alley... He had gotten lost." Guilt fled over Harry as he explained. "I wasn't paying attention. He wonders around so much that's it's easy to lose track of him. I did, but only that one time. It was fortunate that Severus had been there..."

Albys nodded gravely. "I see. Severus has a huge heart if you're willing to go through breaking down the walls to get to it. Perhaps Cedric has found something in Severus that you haven't yet."

Harry bit his lip as they continued making their way towards his first experimental class.

How was it that Albus was always right?

...

Cedric bit into a buttery roll as he sat alone with his lunch in the Great Hall. He couldn't wait for Hogwarts- honestly; all his dad fed him were microwave dinners! But he was amazingly smart for his age. He knew his father tried hard.

He had to because his mom left him.

He pulled at his long strands of hair. He did this when he was in deep thought. His mother... It seemed eons since he had last seen her. He didn't care much, really, because she was fake and he was pretty sure she didn't really care much for him anyway. He only did it because his father wanted to make sure he was happy. His father-

He sat up, startled by a movement in the corner of his left eye. He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to get a better look through the shadows of the halls. A black silhouette was moving around- a person? With bottles of... green liquid, clinking together, the sound echoing off the stone walls of the castle.

"Mr. Snape!"

The shadow stopped abruptly, almost dropping his concoctions. It turned, surprised.

"Mr. Snape! It's me, Cedric!"

What looked like a ghost of a smile appeared on Severus's face as he attempted to brush his long strands of midnight hair from his pale face.

"Well, hello there. I'm sorry I forgot you were coming or else I would have greeted you and shown you around. I've been making potions for a sick friend of mine." He paused for a moment before lifting his eyebrows, a teasing light in his eyes. "You haven't gotten lost again, have you?" he asked, mischievously.

Cedric looked embarrassed at the memory, giving him a lopsided grin. "Nope. Dad's here, on the Quidditch field." He got up, abandoning his meal. (He was full, anyway.) "Can I walk around a little with you? I want to see more of the castle."

A pause. Then, "I... don't see why not. But I'm just going to the dungeons. Not too much to do down there except freeze and make potions, I'm afraid."

"Really? No dragons and things?"

They had begun walking towards the steps that would lead them to the dark, stone rooms, buried underneath the castle.

"Not in particular. Just a boggart here and there. I think you've been reading too many stories."

"I like stories. Dad never reads them to me, though, because he's too busy. I taught myself. Have you ever attempted Paradise Lost? Uh. It took me almost five months to decode it all."

Severus laughed. "Congratulations on succeeding. I tried to read it as well; nearly drove me to drinking. But I taught myself to read too. My father didn't care for books."

"Why not?"

"Because, well, business... his type of business... didn't involve books or any type of imagination. Unfortunately, I grew up to be like him, because he was my father and that's what children do. Which is good for you, because your father is..."

"Wonderful."

"That's right." Severus inwardly sighed, mentally kicking himself. "Wonderful."

They made their way down the stone steps. Cedric shivered at the dampness emitting from the walls, but he continued right next to Severus. They finally reached the bottom, the stones slightly slick.

"That was a long way down."

"You'll get used to it soon enough." They continued to trek their way down some winding halls towards until the reached some huge, intimidating doors. Severus opened them with a flick of his wand.

Cedric ran in before Severus, enthralled by the setting. "Wow! Do you actually hold class down here?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Was Dad any good at Potions?"

"Honestly?"

Cedric nodded gravely, completely engrossed in what Severus was about to tell him.

"When you get right down to it, then no. He was horrible. He never got it right because he put newts eye in before the frog leg or stirred it counter clockwise instead of visa versa. His potions blew up all over the place because of the smallest, most mundane reasons."

"D'you think I'll be good at them when I come here?"

"God help you if you're like your father. But if you pay attention and take some notes and maybe even finish your homework, then there might be hope for you yet."

Cedric grinned and continued studying the shelves filled with colorful, wonderful, and dangerous liquids. Severus set down his box and took a moment to observe the inquisitive child before him.

Severus searched in his pocket for his black ribbon- his wonderful possession that would keep his hair out of his eyes for once.

"Would you like to try to make one?"

Cedric turned around, looking as if someone had cast a Lumos spell on his eyes. "Really? Can I? What kind? Do you have any time to teach me? I don't want to take up time for your chores or anything."

Severus smiled and shook his head, half amused and half worried about Cedric's tendency to always want to please others. "Of course I have time or I wouldn't have asked, now would I? As for what kind, I suggest you start with the basics. How about a sleeping draught?"

"That sounds great to me! Dad needs one- I mean... he makes them... for, um, you know... whoever."

Cedric suddenly grew quiet and flipped through the Potions Book lying of Severus's desk, looking for the Sleeping Draught recipe. His green eyes looked almost ashamed as they fell on the Potions Master, as if he were scolding himself inwardly. Cedric wasn't ashamed of his father; he was ashamed of himself for letting the secret slip.

Severus was silent, before saying, "You can tell me. If you want." His back was turned, gathering the ingredients for the draught slowly, waiting to see if the child would open up to him, the most hated, cruelest professor in the history of Hogwarts.

A doubtful pause filled the space between them. Cedric was chewing on his bottom lip, pulling strand of his hair, looking at the Potions book but not really reading the words.

He finally looked up.

"Dad needs sleeping potions to sleep, even after long days at the Ministry or individual flying lessons. He tries to hide them from me, but I find them easily enough when I'm doing the dishes or laundry or things. I don't mean to, of course, but I'm guessing it's because of mom. I think he hates her for leaving us. He sits up and either works or worries."

Severus was torn. He was glad he knew, but how could he comfort this child? Could he comfort anyone? He had never attempted to; he had never needed to.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry. I don't need her. Auntie Hermione takes care of me a lot. She's nice. She runs a bookstore in Diagon Alley."

"I know she does. Miss. Granger was one of the best students here. She took double classes, did extra credit even when she didn't need it. She was always lecturing your father and Mr. Weasley about their school work."

Cedric smiled, looking far away. "That sounds so much like her."

"I presume she's married to Ronald Weasley?"

"How did you know?"

"Everyone knew. It was pretty obvious when they were here, going to school."

Severus turned to face him, laying the bottles down in order on a nearby desk. "Cedric, how many jobs does your father have, exactly?"

Cedric sighed. "Far too many, in my opinion. He works at the Ministry of Magic as Head of Dark Artifacts. He's a reserve Chudley Cannons Seeker, a part time Auror, helps out as teacher assistant at my school, and sometimes even gives private flying lessons. We should be living high on the hog, eh?"

"You're not?"

Cedric didn't seem to want to answer this question. Instead, "Auntie Hermione's really nice. She pays me to clean up her bookstore sometimes. Isn't that great?"

Severus tilted his head a bit, wondering how a man of Harry's reputation could end up living the frantic life he does.

Cedric finally found the potion.

...

He wasn't in the Great Hall, obviously. So he had to be with a house elf, because he would NEVER go wandering off alone like that... not after Harry told him not to.

But where? Think! He checked the most obvious places: the kitchens, grounds, dormitories, owlery, astronomy tower, library, and the gardens were all void of his son.

Next there were the classrooms. Transfiguration, Herbology, the Quidditch field, Muggle Studies, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms held nothing but students. What other classes were there? Divination? History of Magic? ...Potions?

He quickly exited Charms classroom and headed for the dungeons. He stopped abruptly when he heard voices.

He peered into the room quietly before spotting his jackpot. Cedric and Severus were bent over a cauldron, Severus being a patient teacher, helping as Cedric quickly caught on to the fine art that was potion making.

Harry leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms and smiling at the two oblivious individuals, so immersed in their Sleeping Draught (even Harry could make that one) that neither noticed their visitor.

Severus Snape...

A/T: Okay, THAT chapter was pointless, but I just wanted you to know I'm still working on it! sweats But between band competition, homework and fanfiction... Well, 'least they're at Hogwarts.