Author's Notes: If there are some points you would like me to clarify, please let me know. I try to make it as logical as possible, including the psychology of every character, but I am only human!

For this chapter, I received information from a special-education teacher and a teacher from my birth-country, France. It is especially important to say that, considering I am going to talk about how Hogwarts is a terrible school. I may want to write a full story about that one day, but you will have a good recap in this chapter.

I already have planned this story, but feel free to let me know if you would prefer a canon ending (Sebastian/Harry kills Voldemort) or a "Family Fluff" ending, in the reviews or in a Private Message.

Enjoy this chapter!

JANUARY

After Christmas, Severus tried to follow the teenager as closely as he could, asking about his daily life. He was glad when Sebastian told him that, after two weeks of good behavior, the volleyball coach allowed him to try out and join the team. With a few victories in sports, classmates soon started to warm up to him.

Soon, more students joined Bryan and Sebastian for their study sessions, and he started to have more friendly interactions. Sometimes, they would even gather in the kitchen and cook something they would sneak into their dorm for a snack.

After dark, Sebastian would take out his Two-Way mirror and talk with his brother.

Severus still worried about Sebastian. He told him that the school counsellor would what to make him talk about his family situation. He hadn't need to tell him how dangerous it could be. Sebastian knew that the whole lie of his life could fall if he were to truly confide. So, they made a point to contact each other through the mirror every Wednesdays and Sundays, when both of their schedules would allow it.

'I am so ashamed of what I did. I don't understand what came through me. Why did reacted like that, hurting people?' asked Sebastian one night.

Severus, with all his years of teaching teenager, was able to answer him.

'Puberty', he said. 'It's not only learning about how the stork doesn't bring the baby, you know. It's also going through physical changes and that rebel teenage crisis. It's just a theory, but I think that you never allowed yourself to act like a normal teenager. You never had the space to do it before because you were always waiting for the next threat on your life. And this summer, you were worried about Wormtail. I think that this was simply the first time you felt safe enough to go through that stage and grow up. It a normal process, I see it a lot in my Slytherins. Although, most of them do it more quietly and drag it for years, your crisis was just more impressive and shorter than others. But it's all very normal. The important thing is that you feel safe.'

'What do you mean, "I feel safe". Voldemort is still out there and- '

'- And not a threat to you. I experienced that many times during the first war. He would torture me, and I would hold, I would still find the resources in me to go back home. I would walk all the way to my bed, feeling every muscle in my body, and when I finally reached my bed, I would pass out. I would feel safe enough to let go. I think that's what happened for you these past few months.' He stopped for a moment, then continued. 'Add to that an identity crisis because of your change. I think you were just trying to handle a major shift in your life, while letting go of your past.'

'I guess I had a lot to let go then' said Sebastian with a sour face.

'Much more that any other teenage boy I know. And I work in a school full of them!'

Sebastian laughed.

'I can't believe that the terrible Severus Snape is so insightful and helpful. Why didn't you act like that before? I would have loved Potions if I had known you could be nice.'

'And have Harry Potter coming for extra potion practice? No Way!'

Severus had a half-smile, but the truth was that people have avoided him since the day they have learned he was a Death Eater. Spy or not, it didn't make a difference to them. So, this sour disposition that he was so proudly showing off was in fact a shield. He gave them a reason to stay away from him, instead of rejecting him. With Voldemort's return, it was just easier this way to keep up the pretense of being a faithful Death Eater. Even though he wasn't loyal to anyone but himself and his brother now.

It took some time but, as the weeks followed with no other incident, Severus slowly started to relax and trust that Sebastian could handle the situation.

He was growing out of childhood and into adulthood harder than others, but he was doing it anyway. Sebastian could finally start to enjoy his new life.

FEBRUARY

He couldn't believe that it took him so much time to figure it out.

The visions weren't exactly in order, and sometimes blurry, but he couldn't believe that it took him so long.

One of his Horcruxes had been Harry Potter.

At first, he had been angry, but the memories of the boy had stopped that. The Horcrux had done a good job at learning from the child. All these emotions had been completely foreign to him before the re-unification ritual. And now that he was feeling them, they prevented him from creating another, safer, Horcrux.

Then, he had been sorry. Not for killing the Potters and trying to kill the boy. No. He felt bad for leading another child to an abusive household. This was a fate he would have wished to his worst enemy, once upon a time, but not anymore. His Horcruxes were changing him.

Because the visions weren't organized, it was hard to determine when they happen, but the knowledge he was getting from them was still there. Sadness and guilt had been the first emotions he had learned from the child. Apparently, he was felling guilty for being a freak and sad that his family wouldn't loe him for the most part of his childhood. Fear and anger were also overwhelming, but he already knew about those emotions. Then, with the visions of Hogwarts, came a strange warmth. There was friendship, happiness, and a lot of caring for other young classmates. He even felt the rush of a young crush when looking at an Asian girl.

That last one was the most disturbing to him because he never felt anything akin to love in his life. That crush was the closest he ever felt. He then theorized that a crush, followed by consistent caring, was the way other people felt Love. Maybe?

If so, Dumbledore was a fool for thinking that there was any magic in that.

Voldemort started to think back to his own life.

Eileen might have love him after all. With her way to always anticipate his needs and the look in her eyes when they were making love. But then, why did she betray him?

He had always though that their relationship was purely out of shared benefits. He needed a woman that wouldn't talk about him. And no one would believe it if the ugly Eileen Prince suddenly said that she was sleeping with the charming Tom Riddle. At the time, he trusted her to keep his secrets and remain faithful, but that was it. And even that she couldn't do.

So, Love was not very powerful after all.

MARCH

He had been called to the headmaster's office. Severus wondered for a moment if the man knew that he had already found the cliff. He was supposed to tell the headmaster immediately after finding it, but also to slow him down for Voldemort. He really didn't know what to do anymore, so doing nothing seemed like the less bad option. Which is why the headmaster still sent him out in the wild to find this Horcrux's potential location.

Severus climbed the stairs, knocked, and entered when allowed.

'Ah, Severus, my boy!' Albus stood up and walked around his desk. 'What news do you have for me?'

'Not much Albus.'

'And what about young Mr Malfoy?'

'I am still convinced that his mission is to kill you, Albus. You should talk to the boy.'

'No. He will come to me when he will be ready.' Dumbledore stopped and locked his eyes on Severus. 'But if he doesn't, you will need to kill me before he does, Severus.'

'What?'

'We cannot let such a young soul get tinted by murder. We should preserve him from that. This is why I want you to do it, my friend.'

Severus was stunned into silence. He might have lost all respect for the man since the execution of Horace Slughorn, because that was the only way to call it, but this was another level entirely.

He would be executed for such a murder, forget about Azkaban, the Dementors would have his soul right when the Aurors would catch him. And even if he managed to escape that fate. What about HIS soul? Did he really think that Severus was a lost cause? When he hard worked so hard through the years to become a better man, and was finally becoming one, thanks to Sebastian. And Sebastian? He would have to hide to avoid Aurors and repercussions. He couldn't do that to him, not when he finally had the life he always wanted!

'No.'

'Severus, you must- '

'I said NO, Albus. I won't do it', said Severus.

'You don't really have a choice Severus; the Vow will kill you if you don't.'

But Severus knew that the young Malfoy wouldn't let him help. He would do it by himself to restore his family's status with Voldemort. Which meant that to satisfy both the Vow and the headmaster, he would have to murder him right under Draco's nose.

Severus felt more betrayed than ever by this man he once trusted.

He was bound by the Vow, but not to him anymore. He didn't feel any obligation to this man. He would do what was best for himself and his brother, the rest of the world be damned!

APRIL

Away from those turmoil, Sebastian was happy. During the past three months, he redeemed himself and made friends with the other volleyball players. Not all of them, but they still shared a good comradery.

He met regularly to spend time with Bryan, Finley, Archie (Archibald the 3rd), and Theo (Theodore), either to study or just to hang out.

And now that his was not blinded by his anger, his started to notice things. Differences between St Anton and Hogwarts.

The first one was that St Anton was a school for children with rich parents. It seemed silly but, most of the rich kids in Hogwarts were all sorted in Slytherin, and he always thought that being rich made you evil. While the Weasleys were poor but kind and Gryffindors. But being with his friends now, who were kind and fun, he realized that it was simply because their parents were drilling ambition into their head, which was one of the traits the Sorting Hat looked for when sorting children into Slytherin. Money didn't make people good or bad. Just as a Sorting Hat couldn't decide your fate.

Well… Thinking more about it, maybe there was a problem with that too.

The Sorting Hat was basically sticking a tag on every student's head. Yes, the House system was great because you weren't completely lost when you first enter the school at 11 years old but dividing by age group like St Anton was much better! Being divided by stage of puberty made sense, but at Hogwarts, children were labeled as studious, brave, friendly or ambitious from day one. Surely, they were more than that! What about trying to find your own personality and grow into the person you want to become, instead of what your parents raised you?

And if the label you have doesn't fit you anymore, what do you do? What if a Ravenclaw is pants at potions, like he was? Would they even receive help, or would people just assume that they are intelligent and don't need extra sessions with a teacher? Well, potion was a bad example as Severus would have never given extra sessions.

Sebastian was so glad that his teachers here had taken the time to explain more after class. That was something he never had at Hogwarts. If you have difficulties at Hogwarts, you would do well to never speak in class, because you could give the wrong answer to the teacher's question, lose points, and your own friends would resent you for that.

He was also glad that the counsellor and surveillants had put an end to the jokes. The beginning of the school year had been hard, and he really didn't need to be bullied on top of that. That is something that the Hogwarts staff never did. The prime example was when he was entered in the Tournament in fourth year. Everyone in school were wearing those "Potter stinks" badges and not one teacher has done anything about that. He could also think about Luna and Neville. Hermione didn't even get in trouble for petrifying Neville in first year.

Knowing how Severus lived the constant bullying and the consequences it could have on someone's life, having experienced it himself, he couldn't understand why the school staff would let that go unpunished. It would be fair to say that there were just not enough adults in the school too. St Anton was smaller than Hogwarts and, teachers and surveillants combined, there was more adults for less students.

Following his train of thoughts, Sebastian started to think that he was lucky he was now in a school where he felt safe. Safer than ever. Hogwarts wasn't safe. He thought about Magical Creatures, Potions blowing up, Quidditch, which he had to admit was a dangerous sport, and even the Fat Lady didn't help to keep students safe, as he spent more than one night outside of the dorms without any adults knowing about it. Shouldn't she alert someone?

But this was just the daily life. What about reviving a deadly Tournament, or the whole Basilisk fiasco. Knowing that the student had died the previous time the Chamber had been opened should have triggered a more drastic reaction! He thought fondly about the day a Polecat entered the St Anton's buildings. Everyone had been gathered outside and firemen, alongside Wildlife Control, had been sent into the school to catch the poor animal. It was in the middle of February and the poor thing must have been freezing outside. Fortunately, the teachers told them polecats were protected in the UK so nothing bad would happen to it, it would just be released farther from the school.

The Board of Governors and the Headmaster should have done the same. Temporarily close the school or host everyone in magical tents while Aurors and Magizoologist tried to identify, locate, and kill the beast. It was called a Monster in the legends, after all. And interrogating Mimi after her death would have been a good idea too. The girl's bathroom should have been sealed fifty years ago.

He liked Hogwarts and all the fun he had there, and he missed it sometimes, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt lucky in his new life. Severus was right: he was safe.

Sure, he now shared blood with a Dark Lord who killed his birthparents, but he knew it was not his doing and that he was going to become a much better man than that.

MAY

None of his plans required major action lately, so he had a lot of time to think. His Death Eaters were recruiting faster than ever. He had welcomed a few talents in his flocks, and a few useless people. Did this accountant really think he cared about numbers?

Voldemort had spent the past month actively looking for another way to become immortal. So far, he hadn't found the perfect combination. When he was not reading old books, he was thinking about his past life.

Because of his mother's foolishness, it was physically impossible for him to ever feel Love. The Love potion she had used on his father had cursed him, the child. He was innocent at that point, but already ruined.

He couldn't help but wonder how his life would have been if his mother had survived childbirth. Maybe she would have worked. Maybe they would have lived in the countryside, living from the potions she would have brewed. And maybe she would have taught him all those things: Friendship. Happiness. Caring.

Maybe she would have remarried, and he would have had a better father than the muggle. Doing better than an absent father was not hard. Abandoning your pregnant wife? Really?

Voldemort spent some time, before going to sleep, dreaming about a better life, with parents. He was sure that was the influence of the Potter boy.

He could feel that the Horcruxes in him have finished to heal his fractured soul. He saw scars on the soul-scan he practiced, but nothing too serious. He had untangled and made sense of all the new feelings his Potter Horcrux had learn. All things considered; the boy had a stressful life.

He knew that the Potter boy was now dead. He must have ended up as a pile of ashes, just like Nagini. He was still going through his memories, randomly given in visions. It was the end of the month when he saw Severus Snape in those visions. He wondered why. The boy had given no indication of being close to the Potion Master before the latest visions.

JUNE

Draco Malfoy was proud. He had done it, it worked! The Vanishing cabinet was working! He had just sent a message through it. He just needed to pack his things in his trunk and find Dumbledore. It would be for tonight.

He was going downstairs to the dungeons when he saw him. Dumbledore was just a few floors under him in the Great Stairs.

Severus was crossed when Dumbledore barged into his potion's lab, immediately emptying his cauldron. He had been working on this experimental antidote to the Moonseed Poison for the past two days. He didn't dare to continue his experimentations on Polyjuice at Hogwarts.

'Severus, take your cloak, I found it!'

Severus slowly put the stirring rod he was holding in his hand next to the juicing board. He breathed slowly to remain calm as he contemplated his empty cauldron. Two days of working extra hours to try and create that antidote, hoping to sell the recipe to a potion-manufacturer on the Potions market.

'And what did you find, Albus?' It'd better be worth it.

'I found the place we were looking for. I have found the next Horcrux!'

Severus stopped moving, not knowing how to react. Dumbledore had found the cliff.

'That is good news, Albus. I presume that you have already retrieved the item.'

'No, I need you Severus. I need to know that someone will destroy it if anything happens to me out there.'

'Very well', said Severus calmly. 'Let me just take my cloak and- '.

Knock, knock, knock.

There was someone knocking at the door.

Severus saw Dumbledore put on his smiling grand-father face and spell the door opened.

Seeing the wand in the teenager's hand, and the determination on his face, Severus knew that Draco had chosen tonight to complete his mission. Reacting on instinct, he grabbed his own wand that was on his working station. He knew he needed to make a choice in what would happen next.

'Expelliarmus' said Severus

Dumbledore turned toward him, completely ignoring the wand that Draco was still pointing at him.

'Severus, please,' said Dumbledore.

Severus didn't know if he was begging to get his wand back of for Severus to kill him before Draco could "taint his soul". He still didn't know what choice to make. He looked at the wand a suddenly thought of a perfect way to bid his own time, while "helping" Draco.

'Is that what you want old man?' he said, holding the headmaster's wand in his hand.

He then took it in both hands and snapped the wand in two parts. Irremediably broken. Destroyed.

'Severus! What have you done? The wand- '

'Your wand doesn't matter. You are going to die,' said Draco.

'Ah… But you see, I don't think so. I know that you will not lower yourself to that Draco.'

'I will do it! I must… He is going to kill them if I don't…'

Tears started to gather in Draco's eyes as he realized that he couldn't do it. Severus' mind was running fast. He needed to find a way to help Draco, because he really didn't want to kill the man himself, he couldn't his brother's safety for a student that didn't even want his help.

'Stupefy!'

Draco looked at Dumbledore's body on the floor and turned to his professor.

'Why did you do that?' asked the teen.

'Because we need to talk,' said Severus. 'Draco, if it's any consolation, Dumbledore will be dead in a month or two even if you spare him tonight,' said Severus.

'What?'

'You see his right hand? It's cursed. It's slowed down but the curse should reach his heart during the summer. He will die in horrible pain.'

'But… my mission…' Draco was lost. Why would the Dark Lord ask him to kill the headmaster if he was going to die anyway?

'I think your mission is not about whether or not you achieve to kill Dumbledore. It's about proving your loyalty to the cause.'

He let Draco think about his words before continuing.

'You are right, you know. He will kill your family if you fail. And you will fail if I do it for you. You need to do it Draco. It's Dumbledore or your family, but is it worth it to sacrifice your family for a man that is going to die anyway? And do you want to let him go through all that suffering? His last moments on earth being so incredibly painful when you can give him a painless death? Wouldn't it be kinder?'

Severus couldn't believe how good he had become at manipulating teenagers' emotions. Sebastian had been a great training for him. Shouting did change anything with those kids, but if you could turn their emotions in the right direction, they would run on the path you want them to. In this case, he was playing with Draco's guilt. A choice between his family or a "mercy kill". It was a problem of perception, really. If the boy was convinced that it was a kind gesture to spare the old man a painful death, then he might just do it.

He could see the hesitation on Draco's face but knew that he couldn't pressure him too much, for fear of his strategy to backfire. He could only hope that the boy's traditional upbringing would kick in and push Draco to save his family over a dying "muggle loving old fool".

Seconds were going slowly until...

'Avada Kedavra'