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

Web of Lies: Revelations.

The old headmaster, who had been leaning tiredly against his pillows, immediately sat up at the words uttered by his younger colleague. His eyes became fixed on the pair seated next to him.

"What did you say?"

Harry glared up at his uncle. "You shouldn't shock him like that; it can't be good for his health."

The man didn't bother to look apologetic, it wasn't every day you had the chance to shock the old man. "I think you know what I'm talking about, Albus."

The old wizard leaned back against his pillows, his gaze never wavering from the dark haired man. "How did you find out?" His look lowered to the child. "Did you tell him?"

Alec quickly shook his head. "No, Granddad, you know I wouldn't." Looking up at his mentor, he frowned. "Actually, you never told me how you found out."

Severus grimaced. "Salazar told me; he was worried about the effect my reaction would have on you. He is very protective of you, Child."

Harry winced a bit. "You took it better than I thought you would."

The Potions Master shook his head lightly. "It's good that you weren't there when I did find out. It wasn't pretty." The man looked down at the child, ashamed of the way he had behaved. "Don't blame Salazar about this, Harry, he did the right thing; I would have hurt you had I found out any other way and for one, I am glad I didn't get the chance."

Before Harry had the chance to answer, Dumbledore intervened. "I'm happy about that too. But what is this about Salazar? Who is he? When did he find out? And more importantly, how many people know?"

Between the two of them they tried to keep things short and tell the man the important things without entering in details. There would be time later to explain things more calmly. When they were finished, Albus was still frowning, trying to process everything that had been said. Finally, he passed a hand over his face and spoke.

"We'll have to talk more thorough about what's going to happen in the future; there're several things we need to take into account, one of them being Harry's guardianship. For now, I think it'll be best if you keep being Alec. I want to be there when everyone finds out and help you through it. Do you think you can keep it up, my child?"

Harry slid out of Severus' lap and went to embrace the older man. "Don't worry, Granddad, it's going to be ok. Besides, I'm grounded, so I won't be able to spend much time with the other children."

Both adults looked amused at the relief coming from the boy's voice. Severus looked at the pair teasingly. "Maybe we should keep your punishment for later on."

"No!"

Both Albus and Severus couldn't help but burst out laughing at the horrified shout. When they finally calmed down, they saw that Harry was pouting which nearly sent them into a fit of laughing again. Finally, Severus stood up and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Come on, Harry, we need to get going and let Albus rest."

The teen reluctantly nodded, and after hugging the old man once more they left the room. Chris, who had been waiting outside, nodded at them when they passed in front of him and entered the room to keep watch over the old headmaster. After searching for Minerva, who was sitting with Pomona, and telling her that they were leaving, the pair went back to Hogwarts.

Once there, Severus turned to the boy. "Go get some of your things from the Ravenclaw Common Room. I expect you to be down in my rooms within an hour."

Alec nodded and after making sure he was presentable, he left the room. Once he entered the large room, he was immediately hugged by Lan.

"Alec! Are you alright? Jason said you were ill."

The boy gently pushed her away, aware that everyone was listening to them. "I'm fine, don't worry about it."

One of the seventh years looked directly over them. "Any idea how the headmaster is doing?"

Glad that the attention had been diverted from him, the boy smiled brightly. "He's doing fine, he finally woke up, and the doctors say he will be up and around in a few weeks."

A generalized cheer rose through the room and everyone started to talk at once. Poking Lan in a side, he motioned towards the stairs and the two of them left the Common room. Once there, the girl went to sit on a bed and watched as her friend started to put some of his things in a bag.

"Are you leaving, Alec?"

Looking up, he saw the frown that marred her face. Sighing, he put the bag down and went to sit with her. "Not the school. But I'll be staying with Professor Snape for a few weeks."

The girl looked at him, startled. "How comes?"

Harry started to blush, how was he supposed to explain that? "Yeah, well, you see... I'm kinda grounded."

Lan blinked a few times before falling back against the pillows and laughing. "You've been grounded by a professor? I didn't even think it was possible. What will your grandfather say?"

Harry groaned. "He actually agreed with it."

The girl laughed even harder at that while her companion just rolled his eyes and waited patiently till her laughing fit passed. "It's not that funny."

Drying her tears, the witch shook her head. "It is, Alec, it is. What did you do to deserve that?"

Sighing, the boy brushed his hair away from his face. "I kind of disobeyed Uncle Sev in something I shouldn't have. Doesn't really matter any more, I think I was doing what was right, and he probably believes the same, else I would have spent my evenings in detention for the rest of the year instead of just being grounded for two weeks."

Lan rolled her eyes. "Knowing Snape, you're probably right. If it was as important as you said, you got off lightly. So, you'll be staying with him? What about classes?"

Alec sighed. "I'll still get classes with you and eat meals in the Great Hall."

Lan nodded and for a long while they kept silent. Finally, when Alec was about to pick up his bag again, the girl broke the silence. "It's weird to know that Voldemort isn't around anymore."

Startled at the sudden change of topic, Alec remained where he was. Lan looked up at him through half lidded eyes. "Were you there, Alec?"

Surprised, he glanced down at her. "What makes you think that?"

Lan shrugged. "It's just a feeling. We haven't been told much about what happened. Just that a group of aurors and teachers went in there and battled the Death Eaters and managed to somehow kill Voldemort. The older students have been trying to find out what exactly happened, but they've only managed to know for sure which teachers were there. I know that Professor Snape went and he was injured. I haven't heard about you, but now you're saying that you're grounded for disobeying him. Did you follow them to the battle?"

Not meeting the curious gaze trained to him, Alec started to fiddle with his robe while considering what to tell her. Finally, he sighed and nodded slightly. "I went with them, but not without them knowing. I wanted to go, my grandfather was in danger, and I needed to make sure he wouldn't be hurt anymore. Professor Snape allowed me to go under the promise that I would remain at his side. I didn't obey him."

Lan nodded. "No wonder he was pissed off at you then. That was very dangerous."

Harry groaned. "Not you too, my uncle and my Grandfather have already told me how foolish I was."

Lan smiled softly but let the matter go. "So are you going to tell me what happened? I'm dying of curiosity about how Voldemort died. Was it Harry Potter?"

Harry looked at her sharply. "No, it was not him."

Briefly he told her about what Salazar had done and how Professor Snape had become the Heir of Slytherin. Once he was done, he fell into silence while the girl tried to process everything she had been told. Finally, she laughed softly.

"Who would have thought it could be something as simple as that?" Harry shrugged, at the time it hadn't felt simple at all, but he didn't need to tell her that. "I wonder how Potter will feel about what happened."

Alec looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean?"

Lan shrugged. "He was supposed to kill him, everyone knew that, and now suddenly someone else pops up and does his job. It must be weird."

Harry looked down at his half packed bag. "I think he'll feel relieved that he doesn't have to kill that madman; that the duty that was put on his shoulders has finally been accomplished and that now he'll be able to lead a normal life."

Nodding, the girl stayed silent for a moment, and then she stood up and headed to the door. "You're probably right; it must have been hard to lead his life. I wonder if he will return now that everything is safe again."

When she said that, her eyes locked with Alec's and he couldn't help but wonder if she knew about him. They remained in a tense silence for a long while, their eyes never straying from each other's gaze. Finally, Alec lowered his eyes and smiled softly. "When the time is right, I'm sure he will."

Lan smiled too. "I look forward to meeting him."

Alec laughed a bit. "I'm sure he looks forward to meet you too."

The girl laughed a bit, her suspicions having been confirmed by a few words. "I'll leave you to pack; you might need a few of your things to survive two weeks with Professor Snape."

Harry laughed lightly as she left the room and turned to his things. Briefly he wondered how the girl had found out his secret, but decided to ask some other time, it wasn't really that important now. Lan may have many of the faults of the Creevy family, but she knew how to keep a secret.

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