Promises, Promises

By: WishingStarr (Hannah)

Summary: Harry Potter has been in hiding, running a small bookstore. He needed a break from the rough battles he just fought (and won.) But now the terrible horrors are rising again. Can he and Severus Snape stop them before it's too late to save the Wizarding World?

Spoilers: Argh. Through Phoenix, I suppose. The person(s) who died is still alive (Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince), the person who is supposedly evil isn't evil (Half-Blood Prince), and best of all...LUCIUS IS GOOD!

Notes: I am reposting this because I noticed a few mistakes...and the fact that I finally want/have time to update it! I think. The little thing that divides author notes from the story is a song, the beginning of a song...it's called Never Coming Home by Sting. If you've never heard it, I'm sorry.

itsfiveinthemorningandthelightsalreadybrokenandtherainystreetsareemptyfornobodyelsehaswokenandyouturntowatchthewindowashesleepsbeneaththecovers...

"Derek?" A man about 20 years old, with light brown hair and amber eyes, spun around to face a young woman who had addressed him.

"Hello, Jazmin! What can I do for you today?" Derek Masker grinned at his friend.

"I was wondering if you had a specific book..." Derek nodded, indicating for her to go on.

"It's kind of a children's' book, but many adults read it. It's quite popular all over the world, but the authors from here..." Derek's smile dimmed a bit and his eyes lost their sparkle. He knew which book she wanted.

"The Harry Potter series? Do you have it?" She asked. Derek nodded and walked from behind the desk.

"Yes, I do. Right over here." He walked down one of the aisles of books, to the back wall.

All across the wall...Harry Potter books in stacks, Harry Potter posters, Harry Potter stuffed animals on shelves, lots of news articles about the books. Nothing, though, that was truly about the Magical world, just things Muggle fans knew about. The best thing about the wall is it's charmed so that no one can see it unless he himself was standing in front of it. If he wasn't all they could see were the stacks of books, which were constantly disappearing from the large amount of Muggle (and sometimes even Magical!) fans.

"Wow...Derek, I never saw this. I swear I've walked through your whole shop..." Jazmin looked at the Harry Potter wall in amazement (and probably amusement).

Glancing from one end of the wall to the other, her mouth dropped open. Walking over to left side of the wall, she put her hand on the edge of a picture frame.

"You..."

"I'm a wizard, yes." Derek grinned. The moving picture of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley sitting by their favorite tree in front of the lake at Hogwarts. It was concealed under a charm that made it so no Muggles could see.

Jazmin squealed and bounded over to him, giving him a hug.

"Where'd you go to school? Why do you work here, why not a Wizarding area? And...wh-where were you during the war? Did you...fight?

Derek grinned at his overly exuberant friend. "I went to Hogwarts, same year as Harry and his friends. I wanted to get away from the Magical world for a while, so I moved here. I did fight...I was there during it all, from beginning to...end." Derek sighed, trying to clear away memories.

"Wow...I can't believe it! Derek, we HAVE to go out to a Wizarding bar or something, hang out, ya know?" Jazmin winked.

Derek blushed, and stuttered. "I-I, uh, well...I...um-"

Jazmin giggled and poked him in the arm. "Girls have a good sense of stuff like that. You do know that being gay is accepted in the Magical world, right? No discrimination about your preferences, or anything."

"I know...I told my friends about...when I left, and they were okay but...but some people are still...uncomfortable with it..." Derek looked into Jazmin's sparkly blue eyes.

Jazmin frowned, bouncing a bit on her toes. "Why? And why should you care what other people think?"

Because I'm the Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Bloody-Die, thought Derek. He couldn't say that aloud, and he stammered, trying to think of something he could say.

He was- thankfully -interrupted by someone coming through the door, and calling out, "Hello?"

Derek went down the aisle to the front of the store. "Hello, what can I do for you?

The customer turned from looking at the window displays, smiling widely at the owner of the book shop.

"Um, I was wondering if you might know Harry Potter. I'm looking for him and someone said he lives around here..." The red-headed man said. His eyes were brown with a sparkle that seemed to dim when he talked about the Boy-Wonder, the famous Harry Potter.

Derek had never been great at lying.

"I...no, I don't know him, I'm heard of him, yes, but not met him." Harry said all in one breath.

The red-head nodded, studying Derek's face.

"Alright, if you do meet him, tell him...tell him...the Weasleys miss him." Fred Weasley said sadly to Derek. Derek needed all his will power to stop him from throwing himself at the red-head.

"O-okay..." Derek said shakily. Fred offered him a small smile, and walked out of the shop.

Derek turned to see Jazmin looking at him suspiciously. Derek winced.

"Sorry, Jaz. It's just.."

"It's alright, it's alright. Listen, I've got to go, I've got work soon. Would you like to hang out tonight? Maybe go to a wizard club?"

"Yeah, sure. Come by the shop when you get off work." Derek said, trying to sound as normal as possible.

Jazmin nodded, and bounded out the shop.

Letting out a sigh, the young man turned around, walking slowly towards the counter. Waving his hand absent-mindedly at the window, the door suddenly locked itself and the curtains shut. The small 'Open' sign turned itself around so it read 'Closed'.

Rubbing his forehead in a tired way, the owner waved his hand again, his glamour slowly fading away. Harry Potter's shimmering emerald eyes and messy black hair (which now reached his collar in the back, and brushed in his eyes in the front) appeared. His glamour was a small tribute to his old friend and mentor Remus Lupin, who had been killed in battle.

A loud knocking on the door disrupted Harry. Quickly putting his glamour back on, he walked over to the door and unlocked it. Planting a smile firmly on his face, he opened the door.

"Hello, what can I-" Harry made a face. "Oh, Goody." The visitor's eyes narrowed as Harry said, "It's you."

His visitor sneered. "Eloquent as always, Po-"

"Don't call me that. Come in." Harry stepped to the side, letting his guest sweep in.

Closing and locking the door, Harry glared at his visitor, and walked towards the small set of stairs behind the counter. The stairs led to his small flat above his store.

"So, professor, why are you here?" Harry said, walking up to the door at the top of the stairs. Pushing it open, he could see his small kitchen, with a square table in the middle.

Following Harry, Severus walked through the door and pulled off his long coat. He took a seat at the small table, as Harry quickly made tea.

Severus sighed, rolling up the sleeves on his shirt. "Albus sent me. He needs you...back." The word back had so many meanings; Harry was surprised Severus could sum everything up in that one word.

Harry turned from the fridge, his eyes growing large. He had dropped his glamour once he got upstairs, so his emerald eyes stared out at his ex-professor. "No."

"Yes, Potter…Harry."

"But he said there was no way. He told me. I can quote him, I can say it how he said it that day--"

Severus interrupted him. "That after the spell of the magically binding his soul back together, and wiping it away, there was no way for the man to ever exist again."

"Sorry," Harry said sheepishly, "I know you were there and all, but the way he said, with such a flourish and..."

"It will stick in our minds forever, as will the battles we fought. You know, Harry, I am and always have been with you in this."

Harry grinned. "No matter how much you like to scream, curse, and then kick me out of whatever room we happen to be in."

"Of course. I wouldn't be a good mentor if I didn't do those things."

Harry, throughout the years, had learned a lot about the dark man sitting at his table. He had learned, in some ways, more than he wished he had, yet at the same time, he still didn't know enough. Severus Snape was still a mystery in many ways.

"Harry. Listen. If he needs us, he needs us. We will do what we have to. You know that, you have always known that."

"If I may, professor..." Harry sat down across from Severus, "Duh."

Having forgot completely about the tea, Harry let his head flopped against the table. "Does he know anything more about this specific situation?" Severus looked at the young man like he was crazy. "Okay, of course he knows a lot about what is going on, but what I mean is...has he told you anything?"

"Of course not," Severus said calmly, "But he knows much more than he is letting on." Now it was Harry's turn to give Severus a look.

"He always does, you know that. Do you think Draco is involved?" Severus flinched. "I think that would be a yes. How is Lucius?"

"He's fine, I suppose. He loves teaching Defense at Hogwarts. It makes so little sense of course. The death eater-turned spy for the light, who could barely take care of his own child, absolutely adores teaching the little dunderheads at the school."

Harry started to laugh, shaking his head a bit. "And you, of course, would know all about adoring teaching those," he snickered, "dunderheads. And about spies..."

Severus nodded. There was a lot he knew about spies. None of it good, mind you.

"So. Let's start this again...we know the who."

"Voldemort. And that Albus is the one wants you back at the school." Severus looked up from the table at Harry, his eyes seeming to spit fiery emotions across the table. Anger, of course, and sadness.

"And the what..." Harry continued.

"...has risen again, or will try to, with the help of his still loyal, and still missing, followers."

"The where..."

"Well, the Headmaster wants you back at the school."

"When? We don't know when he will rise, we don't know if he already has...but when does the Headmaster want me back?"

"Soon Harry. Before the end of the week." Severus said quickly, and Harry nodded absently.

"Why?" They said in unison, there old trick of getting all the known information together coming to a close.

"And how, but I mean, it's how he is going to rise..."

"Lucius."

"Yes, he will..."

Lucius, under a false identity, was teaching peacefully at Hogwarts. His story was completely credible (since Dumbledore was behind it the whole time), but no one had ever found about his spying except Severus, Harry, and Remus. And they had only found out right before the final battles, needing his information about Voldemort and the Deatheaters to finally bring down the red-eyed psycho that still haunted their nightmares.

And now, it seemed, he would be reappearing in their lives.

itsfiveinthemorningandthelightsalreadybrokenandtherainystreetsareemptyfornobodyelsehaswokenandyouturntowatchthewindowashesleepsbeneaththecovers...

-dances about while flapping arms- Thank you for reading...

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! --Hannah