Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

Web of Lies: Revelations.

Two days later, Alec finally managed to convince Madam Pomfrey that he was alright and that he could leave the infirmary. Of course, the fact that he had managed to sneak out of the place two times already forced the nurse to just let him go.

For a moment, the boy stood outside the door that led to the infirmary, wondering what he should do next. He really didn't feel like rejoining the young Ravenclaws; as much as he enjoyed Lan's company, he didn't want to lie to her anymore. The Gryffindors were also out of the question; Severus had been right in saying that they better wait to see what his grandfather had to say about it.

Finally, knowing he couldn't just stay in the middle of the hall, the boy walked to his rooms in the headmaster's tower. It was strange to be up there without the old man. The tower felt colder, it wasn't really like home anymore. Sighing, Harry sat down in the living room, watching with blank eyes as a few students walked around the lake. Nearly two hours had passed when a voice startled him out of his musings.

"What on earth are you doing up here on your own? I've been looking for you everywhere."

Harry turned around sharply. "Uncle! Sorry, I didn't hear you come in. is there something wrong?"

The older man walked father in the room and sat down next to the boy. "I don't know, you tell me. Why are you sitting here alone?"

The teenager shrugged lightly and returned his gaze outside. "I was just thinking. I didn't feel like returning to Ravenclaw and lying to them any more."

The man looked down at him, concern plainly written on his face. "I'm afraid you'll have to hold the ruse up for a while longer, Child. It really is safer that way until everything settles back."

Harry nodded glumly. "I know." They remained silent for a while, but then Alec remembered something the man had said. "You said you were looking for me?"

The man nodded seriously. "Yes, there are several things we need to talk about. Firstly, I thought you would be happy to hear that Fudge has been definitively kicked out of office. Madam Bones is going to come here someday next week to talk with us concerning our current standing with the Ministry."

The boy looked a bit confused. "I'm glad to hear about Fudge, but why are you telling me about the new Minister? Do I need to do something?"

Severus shook his head. "No, I just want you to be careful while she is here. She won't come alone and while I know that we can trust her, we don't know about her companions. Even if people don't know you're the Boy-Who-Lived, being Dumbledore's grandson still makes you a valuable target, as I'm sure I've told you before."

Harry cringed a bit when he remembered the day the man had told him the same thing. It had been over the summer, when, on his birthday he had walked away from the adults to go look for some strange voices he had heard. He also remembered something else that the man had said that day. His uncle hadn't said anything about his punishment yet; maybe it was time to talk about that.

For a few moments he considered how to approach the subject, but the feeling of dread building in his stomach made him decide to just be blunt. "Are you doing to spank me?"

Severus looked down at him with a frown before answering. "That's another thing I wanted to talk to you about. If you were younger, I would seriously consider spanking you. After all, what you did was incredibly dangerous, and I would have used any means necessary to teach you that putting yourself in danger like that is by no means acceptable. As it is, I think you're a bit too old for that, and besides, I don't think it would help all that much." Looking at the boy he muttered softly. "Not that I think that anything is going to help to get that point across to you after everything that has happened."

Harry winced slightly at the frustration he could hear in the man's voice. He was trying to come up with something to say, when the Potions Master continued, his voice becoming stern once more. "Anyway, you're grounded for the next two weeks. You'll be staying with me at all times except for going to class and meals, which you'll take in the Great Hall. Besides that, you'll be taking lessons from either me or Salazar at least two days a week for the rest of the year. If you're going to rush out and put yourself in danger, at least you'll be as ready to face it as I can make you."

Alec blinked, not sure about how he should be feeling at his punishment. He had actually been expecting it to be much harsher than that. The grounding was going to be boring, but at least it would keep him away from his fellow Ravenclaws which he didn't mind that much. As for the lessons, it wasn't anything he hadn't been doing before, and he really didn't mind.

Severus looked down at the pensive face of the child sitting next to him. It had been difficult to refrain his more preferred disciplining methods; if he hadn't had time to think about things, he would have had Harry scrubbing cauldrons for the rest of the school year. In the end he had had to take into account that the boy had saved him and that without him, they would probably be either dead or still fighting that madman.

Finally, the Potions Master looked down at his watch and broke the silence. "Come on, Child, get dressed in some robes, we need to leave."

Harry snapped out of his thoughts, a confused frown starting to show on his face. "Where are we going?"

The older man smiled softly down at his charge. "To St. Mungo's, of course. We thought you might want to see your grandfather now that he is finally awake."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "He's awake? Why on earth didn't you say so to start with?" Jumping out of his seat, the boy grabbed his uncle's hand and tugged him out of his seat. "Come on, Uncle Sev, what are we waiting for?"

The older man laughed softly, restraining the boy before he could drag him out of the door. "We're waiting for you to put on a robe." As an afterthought, he added. "And don't call me Sev."

Harry barely listened as he threw a robe over his clothes and quickly dragged the man after him.

They met up with Minerva, who was waiting for them down at Albus' office. She was smiling softly down at the teen when they entered the room.

"I was starting to think you wouldn't be coming."

Harry rolled his eyes while he finished buttoning his robe. "Uncle Severus was being longwinded once again."

The older man ruffled Alec's hair. "Watch it, brat, or we'll make it three weeks."

The boy looked innocently up at his mentor. "I don't think that that will be necessary, Uncle."

The Potions Master didn't answer, but the amusement he was feeling shone clearly in his eyes. Minerva shook her head lightly and gave Severus the floo powder. "Come on, let's get going."

They arrived at the hospital without problems. Once there, one of the nurses immediately led them to the room Dumbledore had been staying in. Before going in, Minerva excused herself and went to check on Remus and Professor Sprout who had been staying at the hospital being treated for the injuries they had sustained while trying to protect the old headmaster.

Once she disappeared down the hall, Harry turned to look at the door and taking in a deep breath, he pushed it open. Knowing that the professor was following him, he entered the room. Amanda was the only one sitting there with the old man. They both looked up when they heard the door open.

The woman quickly stood up and after gently kissing her uncle, she left the room. Albus watched the two of them as Severus closed the door. After a silencing spell was placed around the room, Harry darted to the bed and into his grandfather's arms. Albus hugged the boy tightly against his chest feeling the tremors coursing through the child.

"It's ok, Alec, everything is going to be alright."

Severus went to sit in the seat Amanda had just left and watched with a fond smile as the two of them reassured each other. After a minute, he saw Albus wince a bit and immediately drew Harry away. "Come here, Alec, I think your grandfather still needs to take things easy."

The boy allowed himself to be seated in the man's lap and turned to watch the older man closely. "How are you feeling, Granddad?"

"Much better, my boy. I hear from Amanda that I have to thank you for still being here. The doctors are still baffled at what you did."

Severus snorted and muttered under his breath. "They are not the only ones."

Albus smiled gently down to his dark haired colleague. "And I hear it is thanks to you that we don't have to fear about the Dark Lord taking over again. Not to mention that the Slytherins have been accepted again as a welcomed part of Hogwarts, something that hadn't happened since my youth. Tell me everything that happened, I want to hear it from your point of view."

Severus had to fight down a blush, but started to explain everything. From time to time, Harry intervened, explaining some things that Severus hadn't know or had seen differently. When they finished, Albus stayed silent for some time in the end, he turned to Severus.

"I'm very proud of you, my boy, your handling of the Slytherins has been masterful; I'm glad you were able to influence them so much. Minerva told me that you weren't sure about your decision but as I'm sure she told you, you did the right thing. Keeping the children safe has always been more important than spying."

The younger man couldn't help his blush this time. Bowing his head he nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you, Albus, that means a lot."

Nodding, the man turned to his grandson. "I'm also proud of you, my boy, for saving your uncle. Without you, I think we would have lost Severus." Then he adopted a stern air. "What I don't like is that you disobeyed Severus. I think that you and I will have a long chat about how to follow rules that are put there for your own safety."

Harry looked down and nodded lightly. Severus chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Albus, I think I've already made sure he understands. Besides, he's grounded."

The two men discussed the details of his punishment, making Harry feel uncomfortable while still cradled in his uncle's arms. While talking, Severus noticed that the older man was growing tired and knew that they would have to cut their visit short. Yet, there was something else they needed to talk about before they left.

"Albus."

The old man looked up, tired eyes fighting to stay open. "Yes? Is there something wrong?"

The younger man nodded lightly. "What do we do about Alec? Do you want him to keep walking around as your grandson or should he return to being Harry Potter?"

To be continued…

A/N: Thanks for all reviews and thanks to Vinnie for beta-reading this fic.