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This story is rated T.

Severus looked at the old grandfather clock once more. It was now two thirty in the morning and Harry had yet to return home. He had asked Minerva to inform him if Harry should turn up at the Gryffindor Tower. As of yet, there had been no messages from the head of Gryffindor house.

Apparently the Weasley girl was also out after curfew. Dobby had informed him earlier that he had packed a picnic supper for the teens and had seen them retreat to the Room of Requirement. No surprise as to what the two teenagers would be up to, Severus just hoped Harry would comport himself like a gentleman.

He understood that the teen might need some time to work out the part he would play in the final demise of Voldemort. The revelation was just too much to place on a sixteen year old's shoulders. Harry should be worrying about Quidditch and girls, not contemplating his own death.

When the dungeon door finally opened, Severus let out a deep sigh of relief before facing his wayward son.

Harry stopped in his tracks when he saw his dad waiting up for him. His face flushed for some reason and he couldn't look his dad in the eyes.

"Harry," Severus said.

"Uh, hi," Harry managed to get out. "Um, have you been waiting up for me?"

Severus raised an eyebrow, "I should think the answer would be obvious."

"Sorry," Harry said, walking behind the sofa on his way to his bedroom. "Goodnight, dad."

"Harry," Severus called before the boy could make a fast exit. "Come sit. We need to talk."

Harry averted his eyes as he begrudgingly walked back into the room and took a seat on the sofa across from his dad. He nervously twirled his wand through his fingers, just to have something to do with his hands. This talk that his dad wanted to have could be about any number of topics, all of them not very pleasant.

Severus couldn't believe how nervous the boy was acting. All at once he had the thought that the teen had gotten up to something more disgraceful than he had first thought. He knew Harry had been through a traumatic experience today and thought he should temper his own reactions towards whatever the boy might have done. He weaved his way around the large square coffee table and sat down next to his son.

"Where have you been?"

Harry didn't hear the usual vitriol in his dad's voice. Instead he heard only concern.

"I just needed to get away from everything," he answered honestly. "Sorry I'm so late. I sort of fell asleep."

The potion master nodded, then asked, "Did you spend time with Ginny?"

It took a moment for Harry to get over the shock of hearing his dad call Ginny by her first name, "Um yeah, we were hanging out together."

"May I inquire as to where you were hanging out?"

"In the Room of Requirement," Harry answered, then quickly changed the subject before his dad could delve any further into that topic. "So, how was Sirius after I left Dumbledore's office?"

Severus noted the change of topic but went along with it - at least for the time being. "Black was uncommonly sound of mind. He is most concerned about you."

Harry nodded, then in a quiet voice added, "I'm not sure how this will effect his hold on reality. I'm worried for him."

"I am quite certain that Black would not want you to spend any time worrying over him. I think it best if we focus on coming up with a remedy. I trust you know that I do not intend to give up on finding a solution to this Horcrux?" The potion master ran a thumb over his son's scar, noting how hot and red it now was. He pulled his hand back when Harry flinched.

"Dad," Harry began in a voice conveying frustration, "I don't think we're going to find a cure. Dumbledore just seemed so sure that there wasn't one."

"Albus is getting on in years. He does not have all the answers. There is very little information on a Horcrux that is available. Harry," at this point Severus noticed how disheartened the boy appeared to be. He nudged Harry's chin up until they were looking each other in the eye. "I am not giving up," he insisted.

Harry felt emotionally wrung out after his long and trying day, "I don't want that bastard to win."

"No, we won't let that happen."

Harry clenched his eyes shut, willing himself not to cry. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

Severus was struggling with his own emotions. He would not show any signs of weakness, for fear that the boy would interpret that to mean he was losing hope. Nor would he allow anyone else to show pity.

Harry let himself loosen up, he felt safe for the first time since the day had begun. "Sorry about this morning. I shouldn't have ignored you in class and broken your locking spell. I just felt so-"

"Angry with me?" Severus finished. "We should address that topic. Narcissa Malfoy is not worth causing a riff between us."

"What did you do to her?"

"Not nearly enough," Severus muttered in a put-upon tone. "Narcissa is fortunate that I have a Gryffindor for a son. I felt a strong compunction to heed your advice. I fear you are changing me."

Harry laughed, "Don't sound so dire! Most people would think refraining from poisoning someone would be a good thing. So, you just let her walk away without doing anything to her?"

Severus could hear the incredulity in his son's question, "No, I have not gone that soft. I believe Narcissa drank enough champagne to cause her a very unbecoming blemish that seemed to flourish upon her nose."

"What!" Harry laughed. "All you did was give her a pimple!?!"

Severus looked offended, "Had Narcissa finished her glass of champagne, she would have found herself covered in a severe case of unsightly boils. As it was, she drank enough to cause her a pimple that will never heal."

"Eww, that's down right cruel," Harry said, leaning back against the pillows behind him. "She probably won't show her face in public again."

"I am most definitely turning soft," Severus said in a voice of resignation.

Harry put a hand on his dad's sleeve, "I'm proud of you. Besides, it wouldn't be very nice to poison someone you had a serious snog with." Harry laughed harder at his dad's look of shock.

Severus narrowed his eyes at his son, "Which brings us back to the subject of where you have been until two thirty in the morning."

That shut Harry up. The Gryffindor averted his eyes once more, "I-I told you. I fell asleep."

"In the Room of Requirement with Ms. Ginevra Weasley," stated Severus. "May I ask what form the Room of Requirement took?"

Harry shook his head.

"Harry," came the threatening voice, "answer, or I will be forced to summon Ms. Weasley."

"No!" Harry exclaimed, at the thought of Ginny being dragged in here for an interrogation. "Alright, I'll tell you- just don't, you know … don't get all paternal on me."

"I will do my best to keep my paternal side under control," Severus dryly remarked, "Now, answer the question!"

Harry huffed out in frustration, "Okay, okay! The room… turned into my bedroom at Snape Manor." He quickly added, "But, nothing serious happened!"

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "When you say "nothing serious", does that mean you did not lie in a bed with Ms. Weasley?"

Harry gulped loudly, then cleared his throat, "Erm, just because we were in the bed together, doesn't mean we did anything!"

Severus raised an eyebrow, "Harry, I thought we had this conversation already? I thought I made myself perfectly clear on the topic of restraint?"

"Yeah, I know what you said, but … well, after finding out about my future …"

"Exactly what did you do with Ms. Weasley, Harry?"

"Not what you think." Harry said, quickly Occluding, just in case his dad tried to use Legilimens on him. He wouldn't want his father to see exactly what had happened while they were in bed together.

After a long moment the Potion Master spoke once more.

"I am hesitant as to how I should proceed," Severus said as he rubbed his chin. "I can hardly imagine how you are feeling after finding out about the horcrux. However, I still expect you to abide by the rules I set … regardless… "

Harry felt his temper begin to rise, "Regardless of the fact that I'm going to be dying soon! Nothing happened, so you don't need to lecture me."

"It is not just your welfare I am concerned with, Harry!"

"Well, you don't need to concern yourself with Ginny's welfare! She's the one who was pushing me …," oops, Harry hadn't meant to let that slip out!

Severus raised an eyebrow.

Harry grimaced, "It wasn't like that!"

"Explain."

"I don't think I should," Harry said, shrugging and leaning back further into the pillows. "It's private and besides… I don't want you thinking any less of Ginny."

Harry didn't want to explain any further but then he thought that maybe he should. Hadn't he prayed for a father for years? This was exactly the kind of things sons and fathers talked about, wasn't it? He had to start trusting his dad… with everything.

Severus did not want to force the teen into talking. It sounded as if things had stopped before anything serious had happen. He could see that Harry was mortified to even be discussing the subject. So, he was taken aback when Harry continued without further pressure.

"We sat by the fire for a while and just talked. After a while we started to kiss and stuff. It was my idea to lie down on the bed," at this point Harry went red in the face but forced himself to continue, "We were just touching and kissing, then …" Merlin, this was hard to talk about! Harry wiped his brow with his hand and squirmed.

Severus sat patiently for fear his son would stop talking.

"Then we … we talked about …" Harry couldn't compel himself to finish the sentence.

Severus tried to help the teen out, "Then you discussed having sexual contact?"

"Yeah," Harry said, grateful to not have to say it himself. "But, I kept thinking about the Horcrux and I didn't think it would be fair to Ginny. I didn't think she should get that serious with a guy who might not be around very long."

Severus felt his heart clench with sorrow over hearing his sixteen year old son talk about death as if it was a given in his young life. A sixteen year old should not have to deal with such things!

Harry continued, "It's not just the fact that I might not be around for much longer, it's also the fact that I don't feel ready for that yet."

Severus felt immeasurably proud of the boy for having come to this conclusion on his own.

"We ended up talking until I fell asleep. I'm sorry about worrying you."

"Harry," Severus began, "you have been forced into growing up. You have also been forced into making decisions a sixteen year old should never have to make. I know I must seem very old fashioned to ask you to abstain from sexual relations, but it was the one area in which you could remain innocent until you were mature enough to deal with it. I can not express how very proud I am that you made such a mature decision. Once you cross that line with a young lady there is no turning back." Severus placed a hand on his son's shoulder and gave it a pat.

Harry sounded as if he was still unsure of his decision, "It's not that I don't want to -to, you know…"

"If you can not even bring yourself to say it - then surely you realize you should not be doing it," Severus said in an even voice.

Harry looked up at him and scowled, "Yeah, I guess. But it's one of those things that a guy looks forward to doing one day." Harry's voice took on a depressed tone, "Now … I don't know… now, I might never get a chance."

"Is it important to you that you have this experience?" Severus asked, noting the immediate blush this brought to his son's face.

Harry shrugged, "It's just something a guy looks forward to doing. I just respect Ginny too much to do it without letting her know about my future. Besides, I'm not sure how I really feel about her yet. I think I really like her but I'm not sure I love her."

Severus nodded his approval, "You are very wise, Harry."

Harry smiled, quite pleased to have gotten his father's approval.

"Should you genuinely desire to experience sexual relations, I suppose I could arrange a visit from a …"

"Stop!" Harry exclaimed, putting his hand across his dad's mouth before the man could say that word and embarrass him further. "No, I don't need you paying for a woman! Merlin, Dad, what's gotten into you?!"

Severus couldn't stop the chuckle that had arisen in his throat over witnessing his son acting so horrified!

"Shut it, Dad! It's not funny," Harry complained as he felt his face flush a deeper red. "Geez, first you don't want me doing it at all, then out of the blue you offer to pay for a woman to come service me!"

Severus laughed harder, "Harry, son …" it took him a moment to compose himself. "Under normal circumstances I would never offer such a tawdry encounter, but …"

"But, I might be dead soon."

Severus clamped his hand over Harry's mouth, "Stop saying that! You are not going to die!"

Harry's pushed Severus' hand from his mouth, "Then how come you offered to buy me a girl?"

"Because I wanted you to focus on the more important predicament you are in. I want you to get your hormones under control and focus on Voldemort!"

"Oh." Harry dropped his head into his hands. He felt the room spin a bit and realized just how weak and tired he felt. He almost forgot to tell his dad the most important news. For some reason, he could not admit to, he decided not to tell Severus about the conversation he overheard between Goyle and Millicent Balstrode.

"Dad, I think you should know something … I can't fly anymore. I think Voldemort is tapping into my magic and stealing it." He wasn't prepared for the fierce reaction his dad would have over hearing this.

Severus abruptly grabbed Harry's arms and pulled him closer, "What do you mean? Explain!"

Harry didn't have the strength to pull away. He could see the fear in Severus' face. "Earlier, when Voldemort came back, I witnessed it through my scar. I didn't realize until today that he was somehow pulling magic away from me through my scar. When I blasted your classroom door open today … well, it felt like I pulled powers back from him."

Severus unconsciously squeezed his son's arms tighter. He didn't realize he was doing it until he heard Harry gasp. He abruptly let go and apologized, "Sorry. I must look into this new development. I find Voldemort's easy access into your magic stores to be quite unsettling. It is imperative that you Occlude at all times. Do you understand how important this is, Harry?"

Harry nodded, feeling rather frightened by his dad's sudden anxiety. He rubbed at the spots his dad had been holding. "I've been trying. I get tired …"

Severus gently took hold of his son's arms once more. He held him at arm's length away and really looked at him for the first time since his memory came back. The boy was pale, far too pale. He could tell the boy was ill by the dark circles under his eyes. Most disturbing of all was the angry red scar, swollen and almost pulsing with pain.

"I'm not that bad, am I?" Harry asked in a teasing tone of voice, as he tried to hide his own panic over seeing his dad's dire expression.

Severus shook his head as he tried to hide the dread that was spreading throughout him. It was obvious that the boy was under constant attack and he had not seen this! How could he have let his son go through this on his own?

"Harry, should you at any time feel as if the Dark Lord is attacking you, you must come to me, day or night. Do not hesitate to interrupt any meeting or class I may be in. I want to help you fight against him!"

"Yes, sir," Harry solemnly answered. "But …you should know … I-I…"

Severus tightened his hold, "What?"

"I can't fly anymore," Harry had held his emotions in check up until now. He couldn't hold back the damn that had threaten to break. Throwing dignity to the wind, he fell against his dad. "I can't fly! He took that away…"

Severus smoothed down the unruly hair on his son's head and offered words of comfort, "It is not forever. I promise you, one day you shall fly again, Harry."

"Don't say that!" Harry said, trying to push away from his dad but feeling Severus' arms tighten. He stopped fighting, "Don't make promises you can't keep. You've always been honest with me, always!"

"That has not changed. You shall fly again, Harry."

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