A/N Hey all! Thanks for the nice reviews. Deborah in LA: Yes, I know where LA is (grins) I've been studying the map of the USA lately…I know where most of the states are now! Anyway, I'm not in Deutschland (assuming you meant Germany with that) I'm Dutch and am, therefore, in the Netherlands. (Or Holland, although that's is technically not true as Holland is the name for the western part of the country and I'm in the east. But, trivial detail).

Harry sighed.

"When he wakes up, stay out of his way," he warned the headmaster, who was sitting on the edge of the couch, holding one of the Potions Master's cold hands.

Dumbledore looked up, a hurt and puzzled look in his eyes. Harry picked up his explanation.

"He will be very angry when he wakes up. These episodes scare him and leave him a bit unbalanced for a while. He gets angry because it makes him feel weak, and right now he will probably be even more upset because you saw his 'weakness' as he calls it. He is a bit impatient with his recovery."

Dumbledore sighed and stroked strands of hair from the pale face.

"I understand. I'd give anything to help him, but I don't know if I can."

Harry poured them both a firewhiskey and shook his head. "You can't help him until he lets you help him."

A twinkle suddenly reappeared in the headmaster's eyes. "He lets you help him," the old man remarked.

"He didn't have an awful lot of choice in the matter," Harry replied, "I was the only one he could turn to, and even he realised he was far to weak to fend for himself. By the time his health had improved, he was so used to me that he didn't mind anymore."

The aged wizard smiled wryly. "I've been trying to get the two of you to respect each other for five years when you were at school. I'm glad you get along now, even though I wish none of this had ever happened."

Harry was about to reply when a soft moan indicated Severus was waking up. When the dark eyes opened, Dumbledore retreated back to the dining table, while Harry helped the ill man up.

"Are you ok?"

"I just had another one of those bloody flashbacks, Potter, how ok do you think I am?" the man snarled, batting Harry's hands away as he tried to help him stand.

Then he noticed the Headmaster.

"Had fun?" he asked coldly, "enjoyed the spectacle? I guess you got your wish, I'm in that godforsaken place for the rest of my life." He stalked from the room.

Dumbledore wiped at a tear that had leaked out without permission.

Harry patted his shoulder. "He'll come around soon enough, he needs a little time now to recuperate. How about we have a drink and a game of chess? We'll leave dessert for when Severus is ready to rejoin us."

A little over an hour and two sound defeats for Harry later, the door opened and Severus came back in.

"I'm sorry," he said to Dumbledore, "I shouldn't have said that."

"Severus," Dumbledore breathed, cupping the pale face in his hands, "my boy, you have nothing to be sorry for."

For a moment Harry thought the Potions Master would launch himself into Dumbledore's arms, but it passed. Nodding curtly, Severus stepped back and looked at the third game of chess that had just started and the cleaned table.

"I suppose you didn't save me any dessert, then?" he sneered.

Harry huffed. "We didn't have dessert yet, we waited for you. Dobby will probably bring it up any minute now."

Severus smirked. "Good, because I asked Dobby to bring every kind of lemony dessert he could find."

Harry and he both grinned at the look of delight on the Headmaster's face.

Over the next three months, Dumbledore found out that Harry's description of 'two steps forward, one step back' was quite accurate. Severus replied to his letters, but hardly ever initiated contact with him, came to one or two really important Order meetings with Harry but didn't actually speak much.

They had forbidden Dumbledore to tell anyone of their accomplishments in training. Draco and Harry had been practising as well at Hogwarts, using the Chamber of Secrets. Draco had a lot more trouble then Harry and Severus with the wandless magic, but he was nevertheless progressing steadily. Harry guessed he was now up to first year spells, which wasn't that much use in battle but could still give the advantage of surprise. He did help Harry a lot in training his duelling techniques.

Back at the manor, Severus and Harry duelled each day, not only learning each others strengths and weaknesses, but also began to function as a team.

After a hard evening of training, they were having their usual butterbeer down in the training room.

"Next month, it'll be a year since I escaped Azkaban," Severus remarked one day.

Harry nodded. "I know. You look a whole lot better then you did then," he said, swigging butterbeer.

"No, really?" Severus said sarcastically. Then he sighed. "I guess I do, don't I? Actually, I don't think I ever been this healthy in my life. Dobby may be a menace, but he did feed me up allright."

"I is hearing that," Dobby's voice came from somewhere above them, "professor Snape better be nice or no dessert tonight!"

Harry chuckled. "I'll keep him in line, Dobby," he yelled back.

"And I haven't had a flashback in a month," Severus continued, ignoring Dobby completely, "I'm now even more powerful then I could imagine a year after my imprisonment."

"That is true. We're not bad as a team either. Who knows, maybe our joining forces is the 'Power the Dark Lord knows not' he would definitely not be expecting it."

"He would by now," Severus pointed out, "but the kind of power we have, YOU have, that is something he should be very surprised by. His ability for wandless magic is about as good as Dumbledore's."

"How do you feel about him now?"

Severus sighed. "I don't know. Part of me wants to run into his arms and tell him I want to rebuild our previous relationship. I want to be his son again. But whenever that part of me does something remotely reconciliatory, the part of me that is always scared of being betrayed again yanks me back, screaming at me to be careful and not to trust anyone. I must be frustrating him to no end."

Harry shrugged. "He understands, and if he doesn't, well, don't let it rush you. But in the end any relationship is a risk, Severus, even under normal circumstances. It will never be one hundred percent safe."

"I trust you that much. And Draco. Not to mention Dobby."

"Yes, and I am very pleased that you do, but you have never lost us, unlike Dumbledore."

"So you're saying I should get over it and just plunge back into that relationship?"

Harry got up from the floor. "I'm saying you should take all the time you need to make that decision, Severus. But in the end, you'll have to decide. For your own peace of mind, and his."

For the third time in a year, Harry was woken in the middle of the night by the sound of a ward going off. Dobby and Severus came pelting into the hall as he rushed out of his room, magicking himself into battle gear.

"What is it?"

"The Burrow. The ward I set on the Burrow is down. It's under attack, I've gotta go there."

"Wait," Severus said, waving over his pyjamas and transfiguring them into battle gear as well, "I'm coming with you."

When they arrived at the Burrow, it took them only a few seconds to assess what was going on. Arthur, Bill and Charlie were battling seven Death Eaters on the lawn. The Twins were protecting Hermione, who was holding her daughter tightly to her chest with one hand while brandishing a wand with the other, but there wasn't much she could do attack wise, with the toddler in her arms. Five more Death Eaters threatened that small group.

Severus and Harry shared a look and linked their minds.

Harry apparated next to the Twins and Hermione, facing the Death Eaters.

"Hi guys," he said to the black robed figures, "miss me?"

With that, he pulled Fred and George back. "Help Hermione," he said, while conjuring a strong shield around all three. Then he sent a huge wave of force at the Death Eaters. Two were not in time to raise their shields and dropped like flies, clearly dead.

The other three were knocked off their feet, but quickly stood up, sending three Killing Curses at Harry, who had taken a stance so that he could avoid being hit without having to worry about the curses hitting anyone else.

One Death Eater dropped to his knees, bent over in pain and clearly unable to move his limbs. The other two stared in horror. Harry had not moved. He had not even spoken. He didn't even have a wand!

As the Twins and Hermione watched in utter amazement, the other two Death Eaters suddenly struggled against invisible bonds, until they went limp and lost consciousness.

"Stay here and protect Hermione and the baby in case more arrive," Harry yelled, as he ran around the house to the lawn where the others were still fighting, "I'm going to help the others."

As he arrived at the battle, three Death Eaters were already down, one out, one dead and one so severely wounded he didn't bother fighting anymore.

Harry and Severus smiled. They teamed up and began their dance, as they had done dozens of times in training. The Death Eaters were no match for them. Soon only two remained.

Then Harry saw Arthur and his sons pale. On the edge of the lawn, three hooded figures had arrived. Dementors.

"Back!" Harry yelled at the Weasleys.

Severus trembled. His mind was closed against the effects of the Dementors…but not against the flashback they were causing. Harry sensed the trouble through the mindlink.

"Severus, no, stay in the present. You are not in Azkaban anymore! You can defend yourself against them."

Severus dropped to his knees as the Dementors approached, panting, desperately trying not to black out. He heard Harry's encouraging words through their link, but he was unable to stop the memories from flooding through his head.

They had grabbed him roughly and dragged him from his chair, Moody watching in delight.

"Murderer!"

"Traitor!"

"The Kiss is too good for you! Rot in hell!"

The Order members yelled. Some spat at him, and he just didn't understand what was going on. What had happened?

Then he saw his mentor, and felt relief. Albus was here. He was safe. Albus would help him and sort this out. He looked up into the blue eyes and felt like a dozen bludgers hit him all at once. There was nothing in Albus' eyes but disgust.

"Take him to Azkaban," the old wizard said, and too stunned to resist he moved as five or six sets of hands pushed, pulled and kicked him forward, out of the school, mercifully empty this late at night, and to Azkaban…

He saw the Dementors approach and wanted to get up, wanted to help Harry…

He had always attempted not to scream when Voldemort tortured him. He would NOT scream now. His arms ached, all his muscles felt torn. His wrists were bloody with the chains that bound him to the wall cutting into them. His tormentors seemed to have forgotten that they were wizards, and had simply beaten and kicked him. Now he was left alone.

He knew it wouldn't take long, though. Soon, he heard a noise and looked up, struggling to open his swollen black eye.

Five wands were pointed at him. Ah, they DID remember now…

He didn't have time to compliment them on that when the first curses flew and the pain started all over again.

He curled up in a ball, knowing he was in that cold cell, alone, abandoned, for ever… Then finally everything went black.