Disclaimer: The same as the previous chapters.

Chapter 6

Blaise Zabini stayed away from fraternizing with his housemates unless it was absolutely necessary. He preferred to bury himself in books and voluntary research instead. Today morning, the tall wizard sat at his corner lazily reading a chapter from the library issued Advanced Runes, watching his housemates busy mulling over the grim situation. Several of them had received depressing owls from their parents. The imprisonment of so many death eaters had dampened their moods. The Daily Prophet had dropped hints enough to make them worry about the safety of their parents. In short, the prospect of celebrating the end of an eventful year was reduced to a distant dream.

Tapping his foot, he thought hard. If these students were forced to stay behind these walls another day they would definitely jump down each other's throat. Draco Malfoy was yet to say a word. If the rumors were true then the Slytherin was going to hex Potter blaming him for sending his father to Azkaban, any day now. By the mixture of frowns and hateful glares, the blonde was receiving from several of the students whose parents were either death eaters or Dark Lord sympathizers things were heading towards an explosive situation.

Zabini's friendship with Malfoy, Nott, and the Greengrass sisters was mostly based on the fact these were the only people who could continue an intellectual debate. He paid little interest to the rest, though he had picked up enough to pretend to be perfectly vain and snobbish, succeeding in shifting their focus from his mixed origins.

Gathering his books, he offhandedly informed a sixth-year prefect, "I need to return this book to the library today itself. Perhaps Professor Snape would write a slip…" The boy grunted in reply, "Go ahead, try your luck."

Goyle watched him, trying to make up his mind whether to accompany him just in case, but the Italian ignored him and walked out of the common room.

The potion master was just entering his office when the Slytherin walked out, the bare wall closing upon the common room passage.

"Mr. Zabini, Why are you loitering outside?"

"Good morning Professor. Sir, I would need to return this book to the library or else Madam Pince might…" he trailed off trying to read the man's emotionless face, holding the book for the other to see.

Signaling the boy into his office, placing both a silencing and a locking spell with a discrete wave of his hand Severus walked around his desk, motioning him to take one of the visitors' chairs.

Steepling his fingers the teacher murmured after watching him intently, "How are you feeling today? It seems these headaches are growing frequent."

Used to being interrogated, Zabini honestly replied, "I am feeling better now, Sir. Madam Pomphrey thinks probably it is triggered by the stress from exams and the drama going around in the castle."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Snape said, "Whatever it may be, you should visit St. Mungo's if the headaches grow unbearable next time. I will write a note to your mother about it."

"That's kind of you, Sir. But I don't really think it's that severe," he replied softly.

Severus smirked, finally arriving at the real topic of the whole conversation, "Is everyone still inside the common room?"

"We woke up early so that we could have breakfast before the other houses arrived," dropping his voice, fixing his eyes somewhere over Snape's shoulders, the boy spoke forcefully," Montague had it coming so did Crabbe and Goyle, Sir. It is better to handle power with care after all it is a great responsibility. But when I think about it from the outside, I mean without taking any sides, I am glad to see such myriad varieties of spells, curses, and hexes getting invented this year. Though I am more attracted to the Care of Magical creatures, especially with two teachers making time to teach the subject."

Snape arched a brow at pointed out, " What about your desire to be a healer or curse breaker? I distinctly remember discussing its perspectives during your career advice meeting."

Zabini playfully countered," Nothing better than the challenge to get into the good books of magical creatures. Yes, healing is challenging, but I don't think I can stop myself from fainting at the sight of all that blood and vomit. I am no more interested in curse-breaking."Though his face gave away little of his true emotions, his teacher did notice the shadow of dread dancing in his slanting eyes.

Severus watched the dark-skinned boy for a while, then stated in a plain voice, waiting for the boy to either blanch or look away ashamed, "I am going to pretend your night time wanderings two nights ago never happened."

It was remarkable that the boy neither flinched nor fumble at that. Instead in the same calm voice, he replied, "I was looking out for one of my housemates, Sir. It was rather a gruesome night."

"Indeed it was, I expect you to continue looking out for your housemates. To adhere to the house rules and the principles of the School, you don't need a badge, do you?"

Zabini rolled his eyes then looked at the cover of the book he was holding in his hand. It was perfectly clear to him Snape was trying to test him. He had noticed the man had neither approved nor disapproved of the formation of the Inquisition Squad, until yesterday. Professor Snape had stormed in and had breathed hard on their necks his speech oozing vitriol and disgust as he pointed out their poor display of Slytherin qualities meticulously. The fact that he chose to pointedly ignore it for these many months had made the Italian question his intentions.

The Slytherin head he had noticed over the years, preferred to stand aside, away from the other staff of Hogwarts. it was difficult to club him with death eaters as well. Draco had dropped hints that the man was friends with his family, yet Snape always seemed to stay aloof. Obviously, the Gryffindors would fail to notice it, their observations were restricted to his foul temper and meaningless deduction of points. But to Zabini the man was an enigma, a dark horse in the whole game of chess.

"The badge just reminds you of your leadership qualities, the rest anyone can follow. Those points train and discipline you, but we can't really expect a bunch of adolescents to grasp the true meaning of it right away. I don't wish to make it a practice, but next time any of the Slytherin is in trouble, I will make sure they are fine, without getting caught." When he looked up, the teacher caught the hint of a sly smile dancing on his prominent lips.

Satisfied with his answers, Snape suggested, "If I can remember correctly, Mr. Scamander had published two versions of Fantastic Beasts and there is yet another set of books about Mythical Monsters, but sadly those are beyond your reach."

Zabini's smile broadened. The boy whispered, "In that case, I might have to reschedule my next year's plans, if there isn't anything else, can I go Sir?"

Severus quickly wrote down a permission slip mentioning a reference book which he was confident Madam Pince would allow the boy to borrow for the term break.

Reading the note, Zabini's smile broadened further. But he held on his tongue as Snape gestured towards the open door of his office and drawled, "The weather is getting better, it is best advisable that the students spend it outside from tomorrow onwards."

Standing next to the slightly opened door, the professor couldn't help himself from chuckling when he saw the fifth year scurry away and disappear behind the entry wall pumping his fist in the air in excitement.

Hermione Granger both wished and dreaded seeing two people, as she lay confined to her screened off enclosure in the Hospital Wing. One was Harry James Potter and the other was Professor Severus Tobias Snape. Midway through her breakfast with Neville retelling the events before and after Sirius Black's death and the reappearance of Headmaster Dumbledore, Ginny and Luna had arrived. They had filled her in with events that had happened in the castle in the last couple of days. But every time she asked for Harry or Ron the medi-witch looked pensive and shook her head.

Once or twice, she heard Professor Snape's baritone voice. Though the man never stepped in much to her relief. Exhausted and still feeling weak, the Gryffindor witch slept for most of the day, with dreams of death eaters, the woman with red hair, and the man wrapped in black billowing winds haunting her. She heard Ron's voice a couple of times but the boisterous friend wasn't allowed to meet her. Those brain tentacles had scarred him leaving behind 'funny thoughts' according to Neville.

Hermione had chewed her lips mentally making a note to look up in the library about everything she had experienced in the Department of Mysteries once she had fully recovered. Thinking about her parents, the young girl had mutely accepted the dose of Dreamless Sleeping Potion from the concerned medi-witch, and had right away fallen asleep soon after dinner.

Walking back into her office the old woman had failed to take note of the young wizard watching her pass by his bed. Harry slid out of his bed and tiptoed to the white screens and sat on the floor, determined to keep Snape away from Hermione at all cost, if he could help it. He had gone over Dumbledore's words and the more he thought about them the more they sounded insane.

Severus Snape hated Sirius Black, yes he did have his reasons for that, yet he would have never wanted the man to stay alive. Harry had first-hand experience of how deep-seated Snape's hatred could go. Yet the man's words juxtaposed to his actions had baffled him. For the last two days, the potion master had been appearing at their bedsides, watching them sleep. Harry had seen his face in the dim moonlight. Stripped off the usual snarl, the Slytherin head looked much like a grieving man, a concerned well wishes silently praying for their speedy recovery.

From under his lashes, the-boy-who-lived had noticed him spend more time around Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger. Now that the two Slytherin students were no longer in the Infirmary, Snape had appeared more often, loaded with baskets of freshly brewed potions, speaking to the medi-witched in hushed whispers. And late into the night, he would stare at Hermione through a small gap with furrowed brows and clenched jaws.

Harry had wanted to bodily harm the man at first, but then had reasoned with himself, did it really matter? Will it bring back Sirius? Because if it did, both of them would definitely knock the man out. Then maybe make a toast over his lifeless body? Channeling his anger at Snape seemed a familiar way to purge himself off the feeling of guilt, pain, and despair. Only Hermione understood this loneliness. Even if he was sought after by the whole of Magical Britain, there were times when he did feel alone, unattached, and pushed away to the periphery. Being a muggle-born or being raised as a muggle for eleven years, unloved and unaccepted in various degrees, they did share a lot. Even after spending five long eventful years at Hogwarts, both still found themselves clueless about this magical life. The Weasley family had been kind enough to include them, yet were they truly a family?

In the cold air of the infirmary, the boy drew his hands close to his knees and mumbled into his sleeves, "But I am not my father, am I? just because I hate Snape, I can't really...not after what he has done for Hermione. He doesn't like her, yet he saved her, he watches her closely asks Madam Pomphrey about her as well. Maybe it is nothing, healing her was just an accomplishment, that git wants to gloat on."

This time when Snape had arrived, Poppy had heard him come in. if he could help it, the young professor chose to stick to his muggle habits of walking up to the Infirmary from his dungeon rooms, rather than floo directly into Poppy's office. Together they had discovered Potter sleeping next to Hermione's enclosure, his glasses hanging on his nose precariously. pointing his wand at the sleeping boy, the potion master had soundlessly levitated him and dropped him back to his bed. Casting an odd glance at the white screen, he had followed the medi-witch into the Infirmary storeroom.

Replacing the empty vials in the racks with freshly brewed ones, Poppy tried to draw his attention, "I understand the nature of Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter's friendship. But Miss Granger's relation with Mr. Potter is different."

Snape had arched his brow at that, "Poppy, really?"

The witch scowled at him and replied as if never interrupted, "She looks out for them and they reciprocate that gesture, but in case of those two things just go a bit deeper. They act much like siblings. I don't know whether I am making any sense, Severus, but I find this quite interesting. I can't say it's a muggle thing, neither can I say it is just a friendship. It's just, I have seen Mr. Potter react differently to Miss Granger's accident. He seems more affected. He is sensitive, sentimental and attached..." She looked at the man pretending to study her notes on her current patients and sighed, muttering, "I have seen this kind of rare display of mutual affection only once in my life, Severus."

Snape huffed and snatched away the basket from the witch, which was full of empty bottles and vials and replied tersely, " Before you find yourself writing a letter to Rita Skeeter, I suggest you go back to your quarters and get some sleep." Marching up to the medi-witch's fireplace, he tossed a handful of floo powder and added, "I will come back in a bit and stay here, till, Minerva decides to join in."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Poppy Pomphrey tutted her lips and observed, "Even after all these years, after all the things you have done to hide your true emotions, Severus, you still remain the same boy with a big heart. And I see the same things happening once again. This time around, there are two people who mirror your qualities Mr. Potter and Miss Granger."

The wards of Dungeon's office were disrupted by an odd scratching and hooting at the black wooden door. Throwing his dressing gown over his nightshirt, Snape had barrelled through his quarters, with his wand aimed ahead ready to hex the person on sight. Nightmares did wake him up once or twice but otherwise, he had managed to sleep.

Yanking the door open The man was surprised to find an unfamiliar black owl staring at him disapprovingly. Dropping the letter on his extended palm it nipped his finger sharply on finding he had no treat to offer in return. Then without a backward glance, the bird flew off camouflaging itself in the shadows of the semi-dark dungeon corridors.

The letter was indeed meant for him, but Snape failed to recognize the sender. Bringing both of them close to the burning candles once he was back to his office, he waved his wand over to detect malicious spells. His ebony wand glowed sending a white sparkle, which meant the sender was indeed a well-wisher. Carefully removing the seal he found two letters tucked inside. One was meant for Draco which he kept aside while the other was addressed to him. Narcissa Malfoy had taken great precautions to send it so it seemed.

"Dear Severus,

The Battle at the Ministry and Lucius's failure at completing the task has jeopardized the social standing and physical well being of the family. I am therefore taking the risk to send this letter through a neutral friend of ours. As I had guessed, I cannot write to Draco or you directly. The auror's department and ministry officials are going to keep an eye on all forms of communication until my husband finds a way to prove his innocence.

Lucius had alerted me about the offer he had made to the Dark Lord sometime in the middle of this year. I think it is time for me to readdress that. I am planning to once again make the same offer. The Manor's ancient wards will create a safe haven for the Dark Lord, once the wards of Riddle House are compromised. I am going to try to make a deal but I am worried about the extent of the consequences. Please make Draco see reason and not act recklessly. My son has tried to earn his father's attention for long. Perhaps it is time for him to look out for himself as well.

I was forced to keep quiet about his role in the Inquisition Squad under Madam Umbridge, but I have never wished my only son to function in such a way. The Dark Lord hasn't taken it well. He has expressed his desire to meet Draco but in the presence of both Lucius and me.

I have enclosed a letter for him, but you know how sensitive he becomes under pressure. Though I chose not to mention Our Master's wishes. Bellatrix might come to stay once the ministry officials have done with their rampaging. I know Draco hasn't warmed up to her, but he needs to change his ways or do so in order to safeguard his personal interests.

Regards,
Narcissa.

Like a true Slytherin, Narcissa Malfoy had conveyed enough to make Snape shudder inwardly. Storming back to his bedroom he started getting ready, planning how to approach his uncannily quiet and frightened godson. Whatever he had to do, Severus knew better all the other students would be watching them closely.

When he had reappeared into his private study determined to send for Draco, the fireplace came alive, and among the green flames, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore's jovial face beamed at him.

"Ah, there! Good morning Severus, I hope you are not too occupied?"

"Good Morning Headmaster. Was there anything urgent?"

"Urgent...well that depends, but important?..yes...indeed. Before consulting Poppy, I thought about seeking your counsel. I see you are dressed up for the day...would you mind if I stepped in?" Dumbledore asked genially.

When the tall wizard with long silver bread stood in the dark and gloomy room his bright blue robes stood out like an eyesore. Offering him the seat close to the hearth, Snape called for Dotty asking the house-elf to bring in some tea.

Turning his attention back to his employee, he found the man pulling back the sleeves of his wand hand to reveal a blackened ring finger.

Without looking up Dumbledore said, " Noticed it yesterday while trying to make the members of the Wizengamot and Auror department understand the ways Tom can disrupt their affairs and evade the traps they are trying to come up with...I can still perform magic without a glitch but perhaps things are becoming less graceful."

Taking the palm in his hands Snape studied the finger closely. When he tried to assess the extent of the damage, Dumbledore stopped him from performing any spell. "This can wait my boy. I am rather more intrigued to know about Tom and Miss Granger."

Taking his seat beside the old man, the potioneer schooled his thoughts and said stiffly, " We will need the pensive…"

Brushing off his suggestion Dumbledore said, picking up his steaming cup of tea, which Dotty had by now brought in, "I would rather like to listen. Rarely have I come across people with distinctly different personalities sharing magical affinity." Snape felt his throat grow dry as the other person watched him through his half-moon glasses with a twinkle in his eyes.

"But Albus…" he tried again.

"No, Severus, I insist."

Looking at his steepled fingers, Snape confessed, "I managed to save the girl because I had help."

Dumbledore's eyes glinted as he murmured innocently, "Help?"

Feeling trapped, the other nodded and said tersely, "Apparently that know-it-all chose me over Lupin. She led me to the memory of getting cursed by Dolohov. He has a perchance for fiddling with popular dark curses. He takes pleasure in the fact, aurors or healers would know what curse it is but they would fail to treat the victim nevertheless."

"Then we are just thankful that we had you by our side. Severus, you do know very well, Remus might be exceedingly good at Dart Arts, but he is not a legilimens. How did you find Miss Granger's mental-scape? I confess I could hardly look beyond what looked like a candy factory. But that can be explained. I heard her parents were dentists, strict about allowing their child to indulge in sweets...perhaps it was her repressed desire."

Snape thanked his powerful occlumency shields and his self-control not to dissolve into a burst of hearty laughter. What a brilliant way to mock that man who offers lemon drops laced with calming draught.

Eyeing the quiet potion master shrewdly the old wizard continued, "Until I happened to come across a door that refused to open, no matter how hard I tried to convince Miss Granger. Rather she insisted upon my well-being and begged me to get you instead. I think the witch has in some way understood the basics of Legilimency or Occlumency…or maybe she is just gifted..."

The shallow man beside him snarled and growled, "No, I got too much on my plate. I will not teach another Gryffindor, or student no matter how gifted or exceptionally fast learner she may be...Albus, you can't ask this from me, not now. Don't you realize, Miss Granger is already in danger by just being a muggle-born over achieving witch and a friend of Potter?"

Holding his hands up in surrender his mentor conceded, "Of course Severus, I understand. We would need her, more so Harry would need her in the coming months. I have decided to teach Harry as much as I can in the meantime," adding a little cheer into his solemn voice he asked, "Were you able to sleep at least?"

Snape huffed, "I have been through worse."

"I am sure Tom had gone to lengths with his torture. Remus has told me all about it. Obviously, he is not too happy to be seen by all the important ministry officials right at once."

"The Dark Lord is most disappointed. But Bellatrixwas determined to pin most of the blame on me. So the Dark Lord had given her the chance to vent her anger. He, on the other hand, watched through it from the periphery, but he was preoccupied and far too annoyed with Potter. The destruction of prophecy could be one reason…"

Dumbledore hummed, "But he keeps missing the vital thing. Tom has been trying to possess Harry for some time, but two nights ago, he had dared to enter his body. It was a frightening sight, still, he couldn't continue. Lily's sacrifice had once again saved the boy and had driven away Riddle. At least the ministry and the wizarding world is now aware that he is back. How do you manage to find your way out?"

Snape stared deep in his eyes and muttered sardonically." Madam Inquisitor saved my neck."

When the potion master had elaborated about that, Dumbledore sat back, stroking his beard thoughtfully. At length he agreed, "Maybe you did the right thing, Madam Umbridge has a liking for Dark Arts, maybe Tom would like to employ her discreetly, but we do have enough to deter her from taking drastic measures to cause further harm. Perhaps her greed for power alone will bring about her downfall."

"The Dark Lord was jubilant at the end, he was glad that the students weren't so prepared…"

"No, they weren't. Well, we will have to do something about that. Whether the world is ready or not, these children must start learning to defend themselves. At least Harry is aware of his destiny."

"Is he?" Snape spat unable to keep his temper down.

"Let's not go into that debate. Rather I want a favour from you?"

Chuckling softly at Snape's genuine confusion, the headmaster patted his back and said, "Keep an eye on Miss Granger and Mr Malfoy for me. Those two might become important in the long run."

Narrowing his eyes the Slytherin uttered stiffly, "I suppose you didn't forget that those two don't look eye to eye," then growing annoyed, he hissed, "or do you expect me to babysit a blabbering witch and a..."

Dumbledore arched his brow meaningfully, halting the young wizard mid-sentence. Sitting back against the couch, the headmaster chuckled at the fuming man's expense and said, "Think about it, one is considered the brightest witch of the age and the other is nearly her equivalent. Isn't it rather sad that Tom has already noticed their potentials? Think Severus. I do know your hands are full. Harry was always the first priority because Tom had marked him The Chosen One. Miss Granger can safely be dimmed as at the brain of the Golden Trio. And Draco Malfoy does hold a special place in your life, doesn't he? Away from his Father's clutches and his mother's fussing, I have found the boy looking up to you as a third parent of sorts."

Snape's heart was racing once again. Feeling his throat go dry and his mouth parched, he murmured fighting hard to hold on to the last bit of his dwindling composure, "As you wish, but don't expect me to mollycoddle them."

"Never in my dreams, my boy. Though things are taking quite interesting turns off late," Dumbledore said seriously.

Feeling the edge of Narcissa's letter, Snape's desire to meet his godson redoubled. Dumbledore had his way of knowing all that transpired within Hogwarts. If the shrewd man was showing interest in the Malfoy heir, probably there was a chance to save him from the inevitable. Lucius had made high promises to the brat, ingraining a sense of pride attached to the prospects of becoming a death eater, leaving aside the murkiness attached to the job. The Dark Lord was unforgiving and unreasonable. Once again in the depths of his mind, Severus cursed Lucius for risking the life of his family and shoving his only son into the mouth of death.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts said little about his meetings at the Ministry of Magic apart from the obvious, "The wizarding community will demand Cornelius to step down in the coming weeks. But what worries me is the dwindling number of Aurors in the department. No wonder they could get hold of Bode so easily. The Order must step in. Did you have a chance to contact your informants?"

Snape shook his head and said, "Not after Thursday. But there are rumors floating around caverns bordering the country since Halloween. A peddler at Knockturn Alley was overheard muttering about seeing werewolves… I won't be surprised if the Dementors too refuse to comply with the Ministry of Magic," then furrowing his brows he peered at Dumbledore and whispered, "Vidal Nott and Lucius knows something about Inferi, and Red Lilac, though I wasn't able to hear much into their conversation."

"When did you hear about it?"

"In the first meeting after you left the castle. Umbridge grew suspicious about my movements. She was literally breathing down my neck after that," Snape twisted his lips in distaste.

"Did you hear anything about the giants?" Dumbledore pressed on.

A little taken aback, the potion master said in awe, " The giants…," correcting himself quickly he continued, "as far as I recall, there aren't many of them left? Why do you think...oh, I see, last time they did support the Dark side."

The morning air grew intense as the two of them sat lost in thoughts of how cruel the coming war could become. Lowering his teacup, Dumbledore sighed then added in a cheerful voice, "The ministry of magic is keen to look at the vigilante called Red Lilac. The Old Lion- Rufus Scrimgeour had gone at length looking for her during the First War. It was quite surprising, the way she had managed to take down so many death eaters. Her Modus Operandi was unique, never ever did she make a single mistake. There was no way to trace her footprints."

"Interesting, I don't recall hearing about that witch after the death of Lily and James."

Storing that information in his mind, Snape mentioned, "The Dark Lord seems to believe much like him, she is not fully gone."

Throwing a fugitive glance at the young wizard, Dumbledore said in an apologetic tone, "Severus, I have my reasons for not letting you learn about the Prophecy...Harry on the other hand..."

Severus cut in learning forward pinning the Headmaster in his seat, "You should have told him long ago. We should have prepared him for the inevitable. You knew the mark was still there on my arm...I have taught him long enough to know that Potter is drawn to mystery. You allowed him to put his own life in danger pretending that would test his capacities, instead of preparing him. Black's death might put all of us on the back foot."

"I am certain he would come by…"

"I might never like Sirius Black, but I won't pretend that man didn't mean the world to Potter. One doesn't just outgrow from the grief of losing someone they have grown to care so much for," hiding behind his long hair, Snape muttered.

"Forgive my old age, Severus, there are days when I forget things like how the heart grows fonder with time, "blinking his eyes, he looked around the room and studied the titles of books on the nearest shelf.

When the potion master stubbornly kept quiet, glaring at him unblinkingly, Dumbledore stood up and heaved, " It is better this way, The ministry can go looking for that vigilante. It might just distract Tom long enough. The Order doesn't need to spend their time on that instead concentrate on the other glaring factors like finding volunteers for the cause."

"Headmaster, Albus, about your blackened finger, do you think it is due to the Dark Lord's lingering curse?" Snape eyed the wand hand and said with genuine concern for his mentor, even if he couldn't still forgive him for hinting at his long lost friendship with Lily.

Dumbledore surprised him again. "My boy, I do hope you will not abandon Mr. Malfoy. Do continue to keep a close eye on him." Bowing his head, he fiddled with the strands of his beard muttering quietly," I have made many mistakes in my life, I don't intend to repeat them, Severus."

"You must have noticed I take my responsibilities quite seriously, especially when it comes to the most misunderstood section of the student body," Slightly affronted by the insinuation the potion master retorted. When he impatiently tried to catch the old wizard's wounded hand, the other tucked it behind him.

Smiling benignly, the headmaster brushed him off and just said" Don't trouble yourself about it. I just wanted you to get a look at it. Can't let you do all the hard work, my boy. That might lead to usurping Poppy's right to mother over me! I will join you at Breakfast in the Great Hall in a couple of hours. I need to see Minerva as well. Might even find a handful of my Dumbledore's Army soldiers awake?" Winking at the dour professor he turned and vanished into the green flames after throwing a handful of floo powder into the blazing fire.