-1Severus walked into the living room to find Narcissa Malfoy with her hand raised, as if she were about to strike Harry across the face. If he hadn't been holding a glass of champagne in each hand he might have hexed her on the spot. He reined in his anger and schooled his face to not show the rage he felt towards the woman. His years of spy duty came in handy to help hide his emotions.

In a calm, steady voice he quietly asked, "Harry, I believe you informed me that you would be studying in your common room this evening. Is there a reason you came to call?"

Narcissa slowly lowered her hand, hoping that Severus hadn't witnessed anything improper. She was always pleasantly surprised when the stupid Gryffindor boy refrained from revealing what had happened between them. Harry Potter was not one to tattle.

Harry could hear that slight edge in his dad's voice and noticed the iron grip the man had on those fragile glasses. Something didn't add up here? He squeezed Ginny's hand to keep her quiet.

"I-I just came down to tell you something," Harry said, noticing the slight variation in color between the two glasses of champagne.

"Is it imperative or can it wait until morning?" Severus asked, carefully handing the glass of champagne to Narcissa.

Narcissa took the glass with an arrogant smile toward the teens before turning her attention towards Severus.

"How lovely, darling!" Narcissa stood on tip toe to kiss Severus on the cheek, then wrapped her arm around his waist.

Severus raised his own glass to touch against Narcissa's. The tiny 'clink' resonated in the quiet room.

"To your future," came Severus' deep voice.

"No, no, dear. To our future," Narcissa corrected, flashing Harry a triumphant smile.

Harry had a strong feeling that Severus was up to something. He looked at the glass of champagne that Narcissa was holding and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was laced with something horrible.

As soon as Narcissa took a sip, Harry could see his dad relax. Part of him wanted to grab the glass away from that wretched woman, the other part of him wanted her to pay for all that she had done. He took a step forward, eyes still glued to the glass.

He was abruptly stopped by a firm hand to his shoulder.

"I believe you have homework to catch up on, Harry," Severus said, firmly pushing him back.

Harry looked up at his dad, and saw the severe warning in his eyes.

"Dad, I think I really do needto talk with you. now!" his own eyes insistent. He felt his dad's grip tighten and he was forcibly turned towards the door.

"I think it can wait," the professor sternly stated.

It looked as if Ginny might protest, but one look at the professor's glare made her words freeze in her mouth.

Harry moved towards the door but as soon as his dad released his shoulder he abruptly turned around, shoving past his dad and accidentally knocking into Narcissa. Her champagne flute went crashing to the floor!

She shrieked, before yelling out, "You clumsy boy!"

Harry glanced up at his dad. If looks could kill, he would surely be dead. He had never seen Severus with a glare like the one he now wore. That anger was definitely directed at him too. His arm was grabbed in a fierce grip as he was harshly escorted towards the door. Ginny followed behind with a look of confusion.

He was unceremoniously shoved out the door. Ginny scrambled out after him.

Before his dad could close the door, he reached in and grabbed a handful of Severus' stiff black shirt, pulling him close. In as quiet voice as he could manage, he ardently hissed, "Don't do it!"

Severus leaned in closer, his lips pressed to Harry's ear, "It is not yourconcern!"

Harry didn't have a chance to say anything further as the professor shoved him away and slammed the door in his face. When he tried to get back in, the door was locked against him. He raised his wand to blast the door open but his blast didn't even make a dent against Severus' privacy spell.

"Bloody hell!" he screamed, kicking the door hard enough to hurt his foot.

"Harry, what in Merlin's name is wrong with you!?" Ginny yelled as she took hold of his arm. "Doesn't Professor Snape know what that woman did to you? Why would he drink champagne with her after all she's done to you?"

Harry pushed his hair back. He tried to think of a way to get back in there before it was too late.

"Gin, I've gotta get up to speak with Dumbledore before it's too late," He grabbed Ginny's hand and began to run up the dungeon stairs. Halfway up the stairs, he spotted Draco coming around the corner. He immediately turned towards Ginny and whispered out, "Don't say a word about any of this to Draco … or anyone else, promise me?!"

"Harry, what's…"

"Ginny, promise me!" he insisted.

"I promise, Harry. But, you've got to tell me what's going on."

"I will, but not now," Harry said, before turning around to call out to Draco, "Malfoy!"

"Hey Potter, what's going on?" The Slytherin looked from one Gryffindor to the other.

"Draco, I've gotta run. Could you escort Ginny out of the dungeons?" Before waiting for an answer he raced up the stairs, sprinting for Dumbledore's office. He had to get back into that apartment before his dad did something that would land him in Azkaban!

He stood in front of the gargoyles leading up to Dumbledore's office and yelled out the password. The gargoyles remained immobile. Just then, Nearly Headless Nick came floating down the corridor.

"The Headmaster is not here," The ghost said. "He left after supper."

Harry was beginning to panic. He ran back down to the dungeon and tried to blast the door open again. The blast knocked him onto his back and the door remained unharmed.

He leaned back against the wall as he contemplated his next move. He had to do something before it was too late. But even as he had that thought, he knew it was already too late. It wouldn't take a potion master long to find another awful potion to use on his victim.

Just then, he felt a small twinge in his scar that steadily increased. He pressed his fingers to his forehead, praying for relief that never came. His nose started to bleed once more. He knocked his head back against the wall in frustration. Not again! Pointing his wand at his nose, he cast the new spell he had discovered today.

"Assuage," he called out, vanishing the blood away. His scar continued to hurt though. He hated to hide this from Severus but he knew these bloody nose incidents were brought on by having helped his dad.

Severus had enough guilt to contend with without adding any more to it. It had been so uncharacteristic of his father to act in such an emotional manner this morning. He remembered the heartfelt apology Severus had given for acting like such a git these past few weeks. He didn't need his dad taking on any more guilt then he already had.

The only problem was … he was also starting to feel dizzy and sick to his stomach lately. He had tried to ignore those awful dizzy spells but it was getting harder to hide them. Today, when he had been walking down the corridor, it had felt as if the stone floor was shifting under his feet. Then, it happened again when he was holding Ginny's hand, on the way down to find his dad this evening. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him but he knew it was getting serious. If this spell didn't help cure him then he would be forced to tell Severus what was happening to him.

He stood back up and tried to spell the door open once more. This time there was a blue spark that outlined the door but nothing else happened. He pounded on the door with his fists but the door didn't budge.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Severus woke up in the same mood he had went to bed in; bad-tempered and irritable. Last night had not turned out the way he had hoped it would. Narcissa Malfoy was supposed to have paid for her abysmal behavior towards his son. That whole plan had gone by the wayside when Harry had shown up! Merlin's beard, the boy had far too much Gryffindor in him for his own good! Brave and true, and all that rubbish. It didn't surprise him that the boy didn't have revenge in him but it bothered him that the teen forgave so easily.

Last night had gone all wrong from beginning to end. It had been hard enough to hide his true feelings and ask Narcissa to come for a quiet evening. He had even gone so far as to kiss the dreadful woman. All those years of groveling at the feet of Voldemort had taught him well. The poison he added to her glass of champagne would have caused the woman considerable misery for quite some time, if only his foolish, noble son had not interfered!

After he had thrown the boy out into the hallway, he had doubts about poisoning the woman again. In all his life, he had never had second thoughts about poisoning anyone. Merlin, the boy was turning him soft! In the end, he had asked Narcissa to leave. She had acted rather put out but had left without too much fuss. Apparently she had agreed to leave so quickly, due to that large pimple that was beginning to sprout out of the tip of her nose. Perhaps that small amount of champagne she had sipped had done some harm after all? Only time would tell.

Nevertheless, he couldn't wait to get his hands on that meddlesome son of his. The boy would get an ear full for his dim-witted, noble behavior last night!

He finished dressing in his teaching robes and grabbed up a few scrolls before heading for the door. He opened the door to find his son sleeping on the floor out in the cold hallway. He shook his head in frustration. Would the boy ever learn the meaning of self preservation! Moreover, where the bloody hell was the auror that was supposed to be watching Harry?

He held onto his anger as he spat out, "Potter, on your feet, now!"

Harry's eyes immediately flew open and in one swift move he grabbed for his wand.

Severus accio'd the wand before the boy could mistakenly hex him. He stuck it in his front robe pocket then placed his hands on his hips.

"May I inquire as to why my son is sleeping out in the hallway like a bloody vagrant?"

Harry scrambled to his feet, using the wall behind him for balance. He didn't much appreciate the tone of voice Severus was using. Shouldn't it be him who was mad, instead of the other way around? After all, it was Severus who had kicked him out and done something as foolish as to poison someone.

"You locked me out!" Harry said in an accusing voice. "I spent all night trying to get in!"

"You overstepped your bounds, Harry," Severus said in a dark tone.

"What did you do to her?" Harry demanded, pushing his glasses back onto his face. He had no patience for anything after spending the entire night on a freezing cold floor.

"I've already informed you that it is NONE OF YOUR CONCERN," hissed the professor.

"It bloody well is my concern since I seem to be the only one with any common sense!" Harry snapped.

Severus had to swallow back his sharp reprimand when Draco made an appearance.

"What's wrong?" the Slytherin asked, taking in the sour looks both Severus and Harry now wore. He looked Harry up and down before commenting, "Potter, you're starting to dress like Weasley."

"Shut up," Harry snapped, looking down at his rumpled, dirty robes. He tried to smooth it down but it didn't help much.

"For Merlin's sake," Severus huffed out in exasperation, "You would think you never heard of a wand!" With a flick of his wand, he cleaned and ironed out his son's clothes. With another flick he spelled the boy's hair into a tidy fashion.

Draco burst out laughing, "You look like …" His words froze on his lips when he saw the way Severus was glaring. "Forget it. I'm going to class."

Harry felt his hair with his finger tips. It felt like his dad had spelled it to sweep over to one side. "Bloody hell," he growled out, using his fingers to push his hair back to the way it should be.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for using foul language," Severus snapped out. He didn't wait to hear his son's response as he headed to the classroom. He swept into the room and barked out orders, in no mood for nonsense. The potion they were working on today would require several complicated spells.

It took a few moments before he noticed that Harry didn't have his books or quill.

"Mr. Potter, am I to understand that you have come to class empty handed?"

Harry glared back, "I didn't exactly have time to get my stuff, Sir."

Draco looked from one to the other, now more curious then ever as to what happened between them.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, "You may borrow my book but that will be another ten points from Gryffindor for coming to class unprepared." He held the book out in front of him with impatience.

Harry ignored the whispers of his classmates as he wound his way down to the front of the classroom. Hermione squeezed his arm when he walked passed her desk. He shook her off and continued walking towards the front of the class.

Severus considered him for a moment before releasing the book. The teen looked tired and he suddenly wished he had just let the boy miss class in order to get some proper sleep. A freezing, cold, stone floor couldn't be good for the boy.

Harry grabbed the book from Severus' hand, then stepped closer and brazenly tugged his dad's robe open. He pulled his wand out of the Potion Master's front pocket, completely ignoring the man's look of ire. He held the wand pointed at his father and thought about using Legilimens to find out exactly what had happened last night between Severus and Narcissa.

"Don't even think about it," Severus stated in his darkest tone. The potion master raised an eyebrow when Harry looked as if he might do it anyway.

Harry dropped his arm then went back to his seat amongst whispers from the stunned students. He took his anger out at all the people staring at him by turning his glare on them. Pretty soon everyone turned their attention back to their potion and left him to brood. Hermione kept glancing back at him but after his dad gave her a sharp reprimand, she went back to her own potion.

How could Severus ignore his request and take it upon himself to exact revenge for him? Shouldn't it be up to him whether or not he wanted to punish Narcissa? And he did want the woman to pay, but not by poisoning her.

His thoughts were pulled back to class when his cauldron began to release a putrid green smoke.

"Clean up that mess, Potter. You are finished for the day," Severus snapped from across the classroom.

Harry growled in frustration but banished the entire potion away. He just felt so angry. His scar started to burn again, causing him to lose the small amount of concentration he had. He didn't try to occlude but instead felt a certain power in the anger he felt.

A few moments later, class ended and everyone cleaned up their area. Harry brought the borrowed book up to the front and dropped it on Severus' desk without saying a word. He was so bloody angry that Severus would risk everything for vengeance.

Severus looked up when his son approached, "Stay after class."

Harry ignored him and turned on his heel, heading for the door. He swept past Hermione, pulling his arm away when she tried to stop him.

"Potter, I said stay!" Severus called out, hardly believing Harry would have the audacity to ignore a direct order. "Mr. Potter!"

Harry continued walking but when he reached the door a spell was shot out from behind him and the door slammed in his face. His anger took hold and with barely a wave of his wand, he shot out an Alohomora spell that threw the door wide open. The door slammed open and reverberated against the wall. He felt a powerful surge of magic course through him and a blinding pain in his scar.

He heard several people yell as he continued walking. It wasn't until Hermione caught up with him that he realized just how infuriated he was. She looked up at him with nervousness. He calmed down enough to appreciate what he had just done. Bloody hell, he had not only ignored a direct order from his dad but he had broken through the man's locking spell!

He immediately knew he had pulled that power from his scar. It became clear to him that Voldemort was somehow getting stronger.

He stumbled as his energy quickly drained away, leaving him feeling as if he had just ran a marathon. He motioned towards an unused classroom and Hermione followed him through the door. He stumbled into the room, collapsing against the closest desk.

Hermione had the intelligence to guard the door with a privacy spell before she turned her accusing eyes on him.

"That is it, Harry James Potter! I am not sure what in Merlin's name has been going on with you but you are not leaving here until I get answers!"

Harry clamped his hand over the burning scar, panting in pain as he tried to occlude. After several long minutes he was finally able to calm down enough to talk. Before he had a chance to speak, his nose started to bleed. This time he also felt blood dripping from his ears as well.

"Oh no!" Hermione screamed. "I'm getting professor Snape!"

"No!" Harry called, grabbing at her robe before she could move towards the door. He pulled his wand from his pocket and used the staunching spell to clear away the blood.

Hermione looked somewhat impressed with that spell. "Harry, when did you learn that? What's been happening to you?"

"Hermione, it's bad … I think I just tapped into Voldemort's powers. It felt like this horrible dark emotion just washed over me when I forced that door open. It felt like Voldemort wanted me to use his powers."

"You have to tell your dad, Harry."

"I'll tell him about the magic but I won't tell him about the bloody nose. He'll think it was his fault."

"But…"

"I said NO!" Harry yelled, pushing up from the desk. "I swear Mione, if you tell him, I'll never forgive you."

"Harry, this is just like fifth year. Don't you remember how you felt? You were angry all the time and …"

"Enough!" Harry screamed. "I don't want to hear you say it."

Hermione weighed her words out before speaking, "I've been studying about the horcrux. There's not much on it but I think…"

Harry glared at her, "ENOUGH!! Shut up!" The desk he was just leaning against flew to the other side of the room, smashing against the wall.

Hermione felt tears come to her eyes, he had never spoken to her like that before. "Harry…"

Harry threw open the door and stalked down the hallway. He just wanted to forget about everything. Forget he even had a scar ruling his destiny. The only place he wanted to be was on his broom. Flying had always helped to calm him down.

He made it down to the empty pitch without talking to anyone else. He borrowed one of the school's brooms and walked out to the grass. He kicked off and began to fly. When he was only about five feet off the ground, a blinding pain coming from his scar, sent him careening back down to the ground.

His knees hit the ground first, causing him to tumble into the stands. He clutched at his scar, feeling the burning intensify. He closed his eyes and found himself lost in a vision.

A roaring fire was burning in a pit with a large black cauldron hanging over it. Bellatrix Le Strange was carrying a large burlap bag with something wiggling inside as if it were trying to escape. Several Death Eaters stood around the fire, chanting and casting spells. Bellatrix spelled the sack to dangle over the cauldron.

A small white creature was dropped into the boiling water, then the bottom of the burlap sack was magically cut open. Nagini dropped into the boiling water, just as fire so bright you had to guard your eyes against it, burst from the cauldron.

Harry stared up at the blue sky, gulping the freezing air as he tried to catch his breath. He knew what he had just witnessed and felt overwhelmed with having to go through this again. He felt like he wanted to die. His whole life had been ruled by an evil bastard who just wouldn't die and he didn't have the energy to fight him anymore.

His vision clouded up with tears as he stared up at the blue sky. All he had ever wanted was to be normal. He was tired of being a freak, of having the weight of the world on his shoulders and most especially he was tired of fighting.

He just wanted to forget what he had just witnessed. He wanted to pretend like he was like everyone else.

He stood up on shaky legs and scooped up the broom. Once again he mounted and kicked off. This time the broom barely hovered before falling back down. His magic was weakening, he could feel it draining out of him as his nose started to bleed again. He crumpled to the ground and screamed out in frustration.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Severus had skipped lunch to brew a nutritional potion for Harry. He had needed the solitude of his laboratory to center himself after Harry's behavior this morning. He tried not to let the blatant disobedience get under his skin, instead he should be concentrating on the boy's poor health and that power surge of magic he had displayed. Merlin, where had that come from?

He was just about to add a heavy dose of potassium to the potion, when he felt the first signs of pain in his dark mark. At first he had thought he had just imagined it, then he knew with all certainty that it was true.

A few moments later, when the headmaster found him, he didn't need to be told that the worse had come to pass. Voldemort had somehow managed to steal Nagini right out from under the ministries nose.

Severus knew Voldemort had enacted his Horcrux. Voldemort was back!

With the utmost haste, Severus went looking for his son. He stood at the doorway leading into the Great Hall.

When the boy didn't show up for lunch, he stopped at Gryffindor table and gave Weasley a message. All the Gryffindor stopped talking when he approached and he knew they were talking about Harry's blatant disobedience this morning in class. It seemed so inconsequential now.

"Mr. Weasley, when you see my son next, please inform him that I wish to speak with him immediately. Tell him to come to me … even if I happen to be in a meeting with the Headmaster. Just …tell him to come."

"Yes, sir," Ron said, hearing the urgency in the man's voice.

The professor stood by the table until Ron and Hermione got up to go find Harry.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

By the time that Severus made it up to the Headmaster's office, the room was already filled to capacity with Order members.

A hush fell over the room when Severus stepped in. His eyes locked with Black's. After a moment, Black closed his eyes and let his head fall into his hands.

Albus was the first to speak, "My dear friends, I bring dire news. We have confirmation that Voldemort has indeed returned to human form. Just moments ago I received intelligence that the dark mark was spotted over two Muggle homes in London."

XXXXXXXXX

Harry was sitting in the Quidditch stands when Hermione and Ron finally found him. They didn't say anything but sat on either side of him. After a few moments, Harry finally spoke.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at Hermione.

Hermione could see how pale and ill her best friend looked. His appearance had changed for the worse in just the few hours since she had last seen him. She took his icy cold hand into hers and just held it.

"We're here for you, mate," Ron said from the other side, bumping his shoulder against his best friend's.

Harry nodded but kept his gaze directed at the sky. "Don't you feel free when you're flying? Like all the burdens in your life have crumbled away?"

He felt Ron shift then an arm was slung around his shoulder.

"He's back, you know?" Harry whispered, not even caring when his eyes filled with tears. He let his tears roll down his face without wiping them away.

"Harry, you don't know that yet…" Hermione said.

Harry didn't let her finish, "See," he said, turning towards her and lifting the hair off his forehead.

Her eyes pooled with tears when she saw the once pale scar, now an angry red, almost purple.

Harry turned away from her. He stared up at the sky once more.

"When I'm flying, I can forget about everything. I don't think about ..."

"Do you want to fly right now?" Ron asked, desperate to make his friend happy.

"I can't. He took that away from me too."

"Harry, you're the best flyer the school has ever seen!" Ron alleged. "Why don't you think you can fly?"

"Because I've been trying for the past two hours and I can't make it more than a foot off the ground. He's taking my magic."

They didn't need to ask who "he" was.

Hermione pressed her head on his shoulder and Ron tightened his arm around him. They sat that way until Hermione finally spoke up.

"Your dad's worried about you. He wants you to go see him."

Harry nodded. He rubbed his face with his icy hands, then stood up. His friends escorted him to the Headmaster's office in silence. Harry stood beside the Gargoyles, already knowing what he would hear.

"We'll go up with you," Hermione said.

"You're not alone, mate," Ron avowed.

"I know, but don't worry, my dad will be there."

Ron took hold of Hermione's hand and they walked back down the hallway. Before Harry had a chance to say the secret password, the Gargoyles jumped aside as a dark figure descended from the staircase. Severus stopped on the last step when he spotted his son standing outside the entrance.

Harry looked up at him with trepidation. He could see how worried the professor looked.

Severus came down the last step. Their eyes locked for a long moment. Harry felt a warmth break through that cold darkness he had been feeling all day.

"There is an Order meeting taking place," Severus stated, gesturing towards the office upstairs.

Harry nodded, trying not to feel offended over being left out once more.

Severus stepped aside, "Would you care to attend?"

Harry couldn't help the smile that broke out across his face.

Severus frowned. "It is not good news, son," he said, thinking Harry might have the wrong impression about what was going to be discussed at the meeting.

"Oh, I already know what it's about," Harry said, matter of factly. "I'm just glad that I'm going to be included in decisions this time around."

"You will not be alone this time," Severus said with intensity, thoughts of the last battle still weighing heavily on his mind. He had never forgiven himself for not being beside the boy on that fateful day.

"I wasn't alone," Harry stated, putting a hand on his dad's shoulder. "All three of my parents were with me."

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I slaved all night to write this for you and get it out on Friday…

Don't forget to review