Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

A/N: Hey there everyone, hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend for my USA folks. Sorry about the delay but real life and this darn site kept me from posting for far longer than I had anticipated. Blah. Thank you all so much for the reviews, I loved them all! A huge thank you to my beta enb2004 who has two fab HP stories that are must reads. So? Go and read them, after you are done with mine that is. LOL! As promised, here is Chapter 12. Enjoy!

It was early the next morning, or the same morning depending upon one's point of view, when Harry woke up. He wasn't all that surprised to see his friends gathered and sleeping around him, but he was surprised to see the state of the room.

The room was covered from floor to ceiling with feathers, pillows, and even what looked like a few of the twins jokes products. How a canary cream had gotten stuck to the ceiling, Harry didn't even want to know. It was generally safer that way for everyone involved when it came to the twins pranks.

The other thing that had surprised Harry was that there were no adults in the room with him, not even Madame Pomfrey. A definite first as Madame Pomfrey was always within earshot of Harry when he was an occupant of the hospital wing.

Looking at his friends, Harry was loathe to wake them, but he knew that they would kill him if they awoke only to find him awake and not having woken them. He didn't truly understand what the big deal was but that was just a part of his friends, no, his family's idiosyncrasies that he had gotten used to over the years.

"Ron, wake up mate," Harry whispered. Ron, of course, didn't wake. Harry rolled his eyes. Sometimes he swore that Ron would be able to sleep through an earthquake, a fire, and a monsoon that were all happening at once.

Sighing, Harry gave up on waking Ron and decided to go for Hermione.

"Hermione, wake up," he said gently, giving her a little nudge with his hand.

Immediately, her eyes flew open and she looked around blankly for a moment until she focused on Harry.

"Harry! You're awake! Everyone wake up! Harry's up!" she exclaimed quite loudly.

Harry winced, as suddenly everyone was up and talking loudly, all vying for his attention.

Ginny was the only one who seemed to have noticed that the noise level was far too much for Harry. "HEY!" she shouted efficiently shutting everyone up. "Lower your voices will you? He just woke up, you bloody prats!"

For a second everyone stared at Ginny open mouthed in shocked.

"What?" she said defensively.

"Nothing at all Ginny," Harry said quickly. "Thank you, the noise was a bit to much."

Ron and the twins smiled sheepishly as they had been the ones who had made most of the noise. "Sorry mate, didn't think about the headache you were bound to have," Ron said.

Harry smiled. "It's okay, it's not that bad. Loud noise does seem to aggravate it though."

"Well obviously!" Hermione said. "Frankly, I think it's nothing short of a miracle that considering all that happened to you last night, that all you have is a headache."

Harry paled at the mention of the previous night. When he had first woken up, the memories of the previous day were quite blurred and he couldn't quite recall what had happened. Hermione's words, though, had triggered the memory.

"Snape!" he exclaimed. "What happened to him? Did he heed my warning? Oh please let him have listened to me!"

"Harry! Calm down, it's all right. Professor Snape did heed your warning and did not go to the meeting," Hermione said.

"Thank goodness," Harry muttered as he sank back down against the pillows.

Ron snorted. "Oh I don't know if that's a good thing or not the way he treats us in class."

"Sod off Ron, deep down inside he truly is a decent person," Fred said.

Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione all looked at Fred in astonishment. "And what ever gave you that idea Fred?" Ron asked slowly.

George rolled his eyes. "He's right you know and don't look at me that way too!"

"Sorry Fred, George, but you've complained constantly to me about how Professor Snape is so unfair and snarky to anyone who isn't a Slytherin since you started at Hogwarts! And we've all seen how unfair he is to Harry!" Ginny said.

George grimaced. "It is true that he has been abnormally unfair to you Harry, more so than the rest of the school, but we saw something at the end of last year that changed our minds about him."

"We won't say what as that would be a violation of his privacy but trust us, Snape is on our side and he does care for his students," Fred said.

Ron and Ginny didn't look convinced but Harry and Hermione were thoughtful.

"You know, I think that you two are right. If you think about it, even while being extraordinarily mean and unfair, Professor Snape has always protected us, in his own way," Harry said.

"Harry's right, remember the incident with the Sorcerers Stone?" Hermione said, jabbing an elbow into Ron's stomach when he didn't answer her.

"All right, all right, so he's on our side. He's still the snarky potion's professor we've always known and been hated by," Ron said.

"On the contrary Mr. Weasley, the only people I truly hate are death eaters, Voldemort, and to a certain extent, Sirius Black," Severus Snape said from behind the group of teenagers.

Ron whirled around and stuttered, trying to find words to explain himself.

"Do not strain yourself Mr. Weasley, I heard everything and I must say, the six of you have certainly surprised me," Snape said kindly, effectively shocking everyone in the hospital wing.

Harry was the first one who regained the power of speech after having seen Severus Snape's nice side.Well, excepting the comment about his godfather.

"Um, Professor? Was there something that you wanted?" he asked timidly.

Snape sighed and turned his deep brown, nearly obsidian eyes on Harry. "Yes, there is but it can wait for a while longer. I would prefer to have everyone down here at once so I will not have to repeat myself."

Harry nodded in understanding. He had done much the same himself all to recently. Telling something that one didn't want to was traumatic enough, but having to repeat it several times over was even worse.

"Where is everyone else Professor? I would have thought that by now people would be swarming around Harry," Hermione said.

Snape smiled wryly. "I do believe that the reason that no one else is down here with you is because that slippery nurse slipped everyone a sleeping draught in their drinks before they went to bed."

The teenagers nodded in agreement. "Yep, that's Madam Pomfrey for you all right," Harry said knowingly.

"So, while we wait for everyone else to sleep of the effects of the potion, what do you say to a game of chess Mr. Weasley? From what Minerva tells me you are quite proficient at it," Snape said.

Ron gaped for a moment before nodding in agreement. "I'm pretty good sir," he said.

"We shall see won't we? I myself am quite proficient and I do believe I will be a far better match than your usual competition. No offense Mr. Potter," Snape said.

Harry grinned. "None taken Professor. You're absolutely right, I'm horrid at chess. Who knows though? Maybe I'll learn something from this match."

"Hmm, a possibility indeed. Shall we Mr. Weasley?" Snape said conjuring a chess board.

"Yes, lets," Ron said eagerly. It had been a very long time since he had had a worthy opponent.

"Black or white Mr. Weasley?" Snape asked.

"It doesn't matter to me in the slightest Professor," Ron said.

Snape raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He did however gesture for Ron to take the white pieces.

"And the game of the century begins," Hermione said in a stage whisper to Harry.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Hermione's words to Harry couldn't have proven truer when the match between Professor Snape and Ron had continued to drag on for three hours. Both of the opponents were equally matched with neither of them having gained an advantage over the other.

"Have we really been watching this for over three hours?" Ginny whispered to Harry so as not to disturb Ron and Snape.

"Yeah, we have. Hard to believe isn't it?" he said with a wry grin.

"I'll say," George snorted.

"The only other things I have seen Ron pay this much attention to and try as hard at is Quidditch, and winning the girl," Fred said with a not so subtle nod in Hermione's direction.

Everyone snorted save for Hermione, who was too busy watching Ron play the game, and the players themselves.

Unnoticed by the teenagers and Professor Snape, Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had come in and were watching the game with equal fascination.

"Why Severus, I do believe that you are trying to steal my champion chess player," Minerva said breaking the silence they had held.

Severus and Ron started, nearly knocking their pieces off the board when McGonagall spoke up.

"Minerva, you know better than to startle me when I am concentrating," Severus complained as he hastily put his wand back in his robes.

"Yes, yes, I know. This time you weren't making potions, however, so what's your excuse hmm?" she said knowing full well she was baiting him and was enjoying every second of it.

"For your information, chess is a game for highly skilled strategists that requires concentration much like that of needed in potions," he said silkily.

"I do hate to break up this amusing argument, but there are other matters that we have to attend to. Severus, I believe that you have something to say?" Albus said, his eyes twinkling in that infuriating manner.

"Damn it all to hell. Does that man know everything and anything that occurs within the castle?" he said softly to McGonagall.

"In my experience? Yes, he knows everything," she said wryly.

Dumbledore heard them though and laughed. "Oh my dear friends, I am afraid that you are somewhat mistaken. I have been known to let some things slip past me unnoticed," he said glancing at Sirius and Remus who both had the good grace to look down and pretend to be ashamed.

"If you say so Headmaster," Severus said shaking his head.

Albus smiled at him. "I do," he said. "Now, I do believe you were going to say some things Severus?"

"Yes, yes I was and now that everyone is here, I suppose I had better before I lose my nerve. Unlike most of the people in this room, I am not of the oh so noble and brave house of Gryffindor," he said with a fake scowl and sneer that everyone laughed at. Relieved that everyone had taken it as the joke it was meant to be, Severus turned to Ron.

"Mr. Weasley, if it is agreeable with you, shall we continue this game at a later date?" he said

"I would like that very much Professor. It has been a long time since I've had someone challenge me as much as you have today," Ron said with a new found respect for his potion's master.

Severus nodded and turned around to face Harry, the very boy who was causing his knees to tremble and his hands to sweat. "Get a grip Severus, he's just a teenage boy. An injured teenage boy. If you can spy on whats-his-face then surely you can ask one boy for forgiveness," he said to himself silently. Sighing, he tried to get a grip on his emotions. This was going to be a lot harder than he had thought. Where on earth was he supposed to begin?

Albus saw his trouble and thankfully stepped in. "I usually find Severus that it is easiest to start at the beginning and work your way towards the end."

"Very well, the beginning is where we shall start. And do believe me, there is a point to the story I am about to tell you. Mr. Potter, Harry, I would that you hear me out before commenting on anything that I am about to say," Snape said.

Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak. This was a side of the Potion's Master none of them had ever seen before and he wanted to see more.

"I would have to say Harry, that everything starts with your mother. The first time I saw her was as a first year at the sorting. I had yet to be sorted and was one of many nervous first years waiting. I was standing next to her and she somehow sensed my nervousness. Despite the fear she felt herself, she comforted me and told me everything would be okay. Naturally, seeing as that I was only eleven years old, I became completely enamored with her, much to my embarrassment now. Thankfully, I grew out of that crush rather quickly which instead grew into a wonderful friendship. Despite the fact that I was sorted into Slytherin and Lily into Gryffindor, we still found ways to be friends. Over the years, our friendship became very deep and I came to love your mother as a sister," Snape said.

"And that, is where the problems began," Remus said quietly.

"Yes, yes indeed," Severus said. "I loved Lily as a sister but James and Sirius saw me as a threat to James's love for her. Ridiculous of course. One only had to spend five minutes in the same room with Lily and James to see how much in love they were. I began to resent James and Sirius, and to a certain extent, the rest of the Mauraders as well. By the time we had graduated from Hogwarts, the animosity between us was nearly at a level of what I consider to be hate. I still saw Lily however, even though it meant putting up with James and his entourage. Not long before Lily died, she came to me with a request that certainly startled me. She had asked me to watch over Harry should anything happen to her or James. Lily made me promise that I would always be there for you if she, James, Sirius, and Remus could not be. Without thinking, I agreed to it. I had never suspected though and your mother and father would be killed only days later and that you would defeat the dark lord at the tender age of one!"

"None of us did," Remus said softly. "We had thought for sure that they were safe and that their secret keeper would never betray them. How wrong we were proven."

Severus nodded sadly with the others. Not even he had foreseen that Pettigrew would turn traitor. It had taken them all by surprise. "The point of this Harry is, my resentment of James carried over to you because you look so much like him. You startled me quite badly when I first saw you at the welcoming feast of your first year. I couldn't get past your outward appearance and for that, I am so sorry. I should have seen that you are not James Potter and nor have you ever been. You have quite a bit of Lily in you actually, more than just her green eyes. I just wish that I had seen it far earlier."

Harry looked around the room and saw everyone was just as dumbstruck as he, well, except for Dumbledore but that didn't surprise him. "Professor, thank you for telling me all of this. I understand a lot better now why you treated me as you did. I also forgive you. After all, we are only human and you have changed your ways, well, mostly," he said which gained some laughter from around the room.

"Well said Harry, well said. We would all do well to remember that," Albus said looking around the room at every single person, his gaze lingering on Harry for a particularly long moment.

"Thank you Harry," Professor Snape said softly. "I do hope that we can improve our relationship now that we have made amends."

"Hmm, how about this then? We'll all start over. I'm Harry Potter and this is Remus Lupin and Sirius Black."

Severus nodded in acceptance. He understood what Harry was trying to do and agreed with it. It was far past time to put old school boy grudges aside and learn to work together, and possibly, even become friends. Okay, so friends with Black was stretching it but Remus was a definite possibility for a true friend.

Sirius and Remus also saw what Harry was doing and accepted it just as easily. It would be better for everyone this way and at least tensions wouldn't be so high within their little group anymore.
"Well done Harry, well done!" Dumbledore said clapping his hands together joyfully. "You have just accomplished what I have spent 20 years attempting to do. Excellent job my boy."

"Thank you Professor," Harry muttered as he turned red from embarrassment as everyone clapping him on the back or hugged him gently.

"A fine job indeed Albus," Minerva said. "You may just be right about this one Albus, though Merlin knows why you believed it to be so without any proof," she said in a whisper so that no one else would hear her.

"Ah, I knew from the minute young Mr. Potter was born Minerva, now we are merely seeing his true abilities, both magical and non, come to light. He will unify our world as it has never been unified before, and in the coming times of darkness, we will need that unity. Both within Hogwarts itself and outside of it" Albus said.

If they were to survive the coming war, unity was a must. They could not afford to be divided amongst their own ranks. Harry was their light in the darkness and he would unify their world once and for all, providing that he survived the upcoming year that was.