Disclaimer: I don't own anything you can legally tie to J.K. Rowling. However, I felt like pulling them out of the closet to play with.

Chapter 7 (Almost Home)

The vast potions classroom was quickly closing in on him. He had decided it was time to tell Severus the complete truth regarding his "identity" and his family. He had yet to tell Severus that they were mates. It had never seemed like the right time or moment. It's not like he could have walked up and said "Hey Sev, how's the potion? Oh, by the way, I'm Harry Potter and we're mates." Surely he would have been murdered.

Ryider had been thrilled to learn that Severus was his mate but he knew how the older man would react and had yet to build up enough courage to face the rejection. Every day grew closer to the end but he was unwilling to give up the friendship 'Ryider Black-Malfoy' had managed—and earned. One resolve had led him here but even that was threatening to leave him if he did not act soon. It was unfair, in his mind, to ask the man anything similar to a friendship—and hopefully a relationship—if the man did not know his history, his mind, and his soul.

He walked gracefully—albeit, nervously—into the classroom but could not find Severus anywhere. He continued walking to a hidden stretch of dungeon, just down the hall, that led to the man's quarters. He knocked firmly. When he received no answer he hissed the password softly and entered. "Severus," he inquired softly. "I need to talk with you." Ryider looked around before spotting Severus curled up contentedly on the couch. Ryider could tell that even in sleep he was tormented. So choosing not to wake the older man, Ryider curled up on the floor near the fireplace and dozed off.

(Later that Same Evening)

Ryider was shaken awake from his comfortable piece of carpet. Severus was hovering over him. Normally, one would believe that Snape would be alarmed at an intruder but this agreement had become unspoken and well respected by both parties.

"I assume that since you are sleeping on my floor, you came looking for me." Severus raised an eyebrow at the younger male.

"Then you would be assuming correctly. Which does you no good since you are already an arse." He responded cheekily. It would be easier if the mood started light.

"Alright brat, what do you need?"

Ryider stared at the floor as if it were Merlin himself. "Sev, I think this conversation would be better suited in a place where you could easily kick me out. You will want to by the time I'm finished." By the end, he was whispering so quietly but he knew Severus had caught every word.

"Ryider, there is nothing you could tell me that would make me kick you out. I will still listen if you wish to talk." Ryider could almost feel Sev's hesitant smile but silently refuse to meet the gaze.

"This summer I came into an inheritance. That inheritance is what led me to Lucius. I had been taken from my parents and raised by someone else. They were abusive and I was worse off than a house elf. But when I hit my inheritance, everything changed. Do you remember the conversation at the Manor just after we 'met'?" At the nod he continued and dropped his eyes once more. "I was truthful with you. I have never once lied. My mind will not allow me to but I avoided certain issues. The memories you saw in the pensieve were an explanation as to how I was born but it did not explain where, or who, I had been for the last sixteen years. I have met you before. I never left though I am believed to be dead. I grew up as Harry Potter."

Severus just stared at the young man before him. Surely this was merely a joke. "You do not have the scar." He stated logically.

"Yes I do. However, with my inheritance and changes in appearance, it moved. Have you ever seen me, a sixteen year old boy whom you have visited at my house, without my shirt on?" Ryider stood abruptly and pulled off his shirt. The front of his body was a mural. The tanned skin was marred with scars, rivaling that of Severus himself. As Ryider turned the scars only became more apparent and deeper looking. But there, between his shoulder blades, was something unique. Extending from the middle of his shoulder blades to about a half an inch above his waistline, was a bright Avada green lightning bolt. Each stretch of the bolt was nearly an inch and a half thick. The spy also noticed two identical red lines on his shoulder blade, each the same length and nothing more than a slivered line.

"What are you?" His expression betrayed his surprise.

"I am half Veela and half Vampire. Please do not mention the scar or the other things you have seen and heard. I will not deceive you. I am honest with this friendship and wanted you to know everything. Lucius, and now you, are the only ones who know. I can only say I am sorry. Please, take this." He held out a set of letters to Severus. One was the worn parchment his 'mother' had sent him and the other was a personal letter for Severus himself.

"Leave."

"As you wish, my mate."

Severus stared at him as comprehension dawned inside. He remained quiet until Ryider reached for the doorknob. "You are a liar. This friendship was based on nothing. Do not come down her again."

"Merry Christmas Sev." With that, he was gone before anything else could be said; tears burning his eyelids.

Ryider hurried from the castle grounds to the apparition point. He had missed the train so he could talk with Sev—no, professor Snape. He couldn't even think about that now. The man he knew to be his mate had rejected him. He wasn't even so worried about as he was that he was rejection. His death had been imminent but seeing the pain in Severus' eyes had killed him. It was time to go home.

(Malfoy Manor)

He apparated directly into the living room. Unaware that Lucius was present or the fact that the tears were easy to see, he took off for his room. Everything was blurred and his wings were beating furiously against his skin while he valiantly tried to keep them in. He knew he was unsuccessful as they burst from his back, the blood flow viscous and unwavering. His stomach burned a fire worse than hell and he could feel his magic stop the healing that should have accompanied the wings' release. He curled up on the floor in the far corner of his room. 'I don't deserve him. I don't deserve this family or this room. I am nothing and it is time I got my rightful punishment.'

He remained unaware when his father walked in. He felt the presence as it drew closer and curled tighter as a futile way to get rid of it. "Ryider, what happened?" The voice was soft and melodic but Ryider just whimpered in response. A phial was pressed to his lips and he instinctively swallowed but refused to answer. "Ryider, please tell me."

He looked up at his father before he begun. "I was not good enough. Told to leave and never come back." Sobs racked his thin frame. "I…found my mate…" He hiccupped between sobs, "and he rejected me."

Lucius felt his own chest tighten. He knew what it was like to finally find your mate. He had not been rejected but had seen grown, adult Veelas fall at less. He knew the end would come.

"I'm sorry to leave you. Thank you for letting me stay but I will die soon. I have until the end of Christmas break."

"The letter said three months," Lucius retaliated gently. He did not want to lose Ryider again.

"I also am undernourished and more powerful, from my encounters with Vol- the Dark Lord, than the Potter's anticipated. I have one fortnight." The tears coursed silently thru his features but they were unnoticeable.

Lucius sat silently, uncaring of anything but his son. He would find a way. But first he needed to find Ryider's mate. "Who is your mate?"

Ryider looked up frightfully and shook his head frantically. His body shaking something fierce. His lips pressed tightly together with his refusal. "I will not betray him to pain."

Two days had passed and this was as helpless as Lucius had ever felt. He sat gingerly at the other side of the room. He wanted to be with his son but he could not get close enough. He could only watch as seizures terrorized Ryider's body and only got worse as each hour passed. Nearly twelve hours before he had heard the restless cries of his son. The Veela was mourning and restless as his magic slowly became his greatest enemy.

The whimpers had all but stopped. They were heard sporadically, now, but it was the only sign that the tremors had increased in strength. Lucius had tried everything but every effort was useless. It was time for backup.

He rose from the chair with grace, furious at being so powerless. He was Voldemort's right hand man and he was powerless. He move swiftly to the fireplace in the main room and fire called Severus but received no answer. Being impatient, with cause, he grabbed the floo powder, stated "Snape Manor" clearly, and found himself in front of a sleeping Potion's Master.

(Snape Manor)

"Severus." Lucius had barely said his full first name before he felt a wand at the base of his throat.

"Lucius." He said neutrally once the identity of his intruder had seeped into his conscious.

"I need your help." Lucius was strong as well as independent but he took no precautions when it concerned his family.

"Yes?" Severus was slightly intrigued but that was overwhelmed by the dread that surrounded his being. Lucius would always manipulate a way to receive help or imply it with no chance of denial but he never asked for it so bluntly. Something was wrong.

"Bring every potion you have for healing. I'll explain at the Manor." With that, he stepped back through the floo and disappeared.

(Back At Malfoy Manor)

Only ten minutes, though a lifetime in the worried father's eyes, passed before Severus arrived. A house elf took him to Ryider's room and alerted Lucius.

Severus walked in to see Ryider seizing uncontrollably. But as he crept closer, he neglected to see the shield around Ryider, the one that had kept Lucius out, let him in or the look of realization and anger across Lucius' face. He was focused on one thing; the motions of Ryider's seizing stop abruptly, his body stiffen, and his claws escape.

A/N: Again, we are sorry we have taken so long. Life has been not so friendly. However, on a good note, my new muse is being helpful. This was a shorter chapter but it is very important. Enjoy and we would love to see some reviews. Puppy Dog Eyes Please? Happy Writing