Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

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*EB*

Elizabeth sighed as she doodled on the piece of parchment she was supposed to be taking notes on. It had been days since Harry had talked to her and she felt horrid, though she imagined Harry felt worse.

She had taken her time making her way back to the castle the day she and Harry had fought. She had no inkling that her father was going to stall Harry on the stairs to judge the Gryffindor or himself, and she certainly had no idea that the man she loved so dearly was going to dismiss the boy who had captured a special part of her heart in the way that he had. If she did, then things would have turned out quite differently.

But alas, she had no clue that fate, destiny, or whatever her divination teacher called it, was working against them. Elizabeth knew that Harry's opinion of her had changed that afternoon, she could tell by the looks he was giving her at breakfast the next morning. He was hurt; you didn't have to be a genius to know that. But perhaps it would be helpful in figuring out the reason why.

Maybe all of Weasley's anti-Elizabeth tirades finally made their way into Harry's head, which she highly doubted due to the fact Harry absolutely loved her. Well, up until that afternoon at least. Or perhaps it seemed, in Harry's mind, that she had set him up only to be crushed into tiny little pieces, which was the idea she was going with. After all she had spent the longest time convincing Harry that her, their, father cared about his situation. However it all seemed for naught as the same father told Harry that he had shown the small act of kindness merely because he wanted to save some time. Yes, that scenario seemed perfect for the hurt that she had seen in Harry's red rimmed emerald eyes. And she knew of no way she could fix it, well, by herself at least.

"Brooks? Are you going to sit there all day?" Blaise's voice called from beyond the mist of her mind, pulling her from her musings.

"Oh, sorry, just thinking too much I guess." Elizabeth replied softly as she placed her parchment, ink, and quill into her school bag before following Blaise out the door.

"You seem to be doing a lot of that now a days." Blaise stated as they fell into step with the rest of their house mates.

"Things have changed Blaise," Elizabeth said as she readjusted her bag. "And I just need to think about them, besides, it's not like Binns actually teaches us anything."

It wasn't difficult to tell that Blaise didn't buy her explanation, but she would worry about that later. Right now, Harry needed the attention. The rest of the journey to the Great Hall was silent, except for the few moments Draco thought he would entertain the masses by making fun of Harry, but Elizabeth quickly saw to it that it was short lived.

With a quick goodbye to her friends, Elizabeth made her way down into the dungeons. She wasn't going to waste precious time to plan listening to Draco complains, and Pansy's periodical sighs as she daydreamed.

Taking the path her feet knew by heart, the Potions' Master's daughter arrived at her destination within minutes. With a small smile Elizabeth knocked quietly, respectfully waiting to enter until she was invited.

*SS*

As soon as the heavy oak door closed behind the last student of the morning, Severus collapsed into his chair. His head was pounding and his heart was racing, not to mention that his nerves were completely shot. But, he supposed, it was no one but his own fault as it was due to the copious amount of guilt he had been feeling.

He knew he should not have sent Harry away like he had, but he just couldn't bring himself to tell the young Gryffindor the truth. After all, it wasn't as though he could have said, 'I merely wanted to scare you to properly assess the damage your relatives had inflicted upon you.' To him that seemed worse than his actions had been, but after talking to Elizabeth, perhaps acting a little more like the parent he was and less like the git he wasn't would have helped.

Several minutes later, a sharp knock on his office door broke his train of thought as he gruffly called for them to enter. Deciding to pay no attention to the individual as they approached his desk he pretended to unmercifully grade the essays he had been handed that morning in the hopes that whoever it was would simply go away.

"Must you do that now?" Elizabeth's voice asked exasperatedly from in front of him. "I know you like to get the grading out of the way so we can have some quality time, but, at the rate you've been going, I'm afraid you'll overwork yourself."

Severus suppressed a snort as he looked up at his daughter. Despite the fact that her usual mask was in place, he could see the pain and determination in her hazel eyes. It seemed the mishap with Harry had taken a toll on her as well, and if he was honest he should have expected it.

They had been close. She had saved him and in turn he had confided in her. They had built a bond that many people only wished to have.

"I work too hard?" Severus asked as allowing a bit of incredulity to his tone as he pushed the paper he had been staring at away. "You seem to be working harder than the rest of us."

"I just can't help it." Elizabeth admitted. "I've made a promise, and I intend to keep it."

"You have?" Severus questioned, "And just what does this promise entail?"

"Harry never having to go back to his relatives." Elizabeth said as she examined the desk in front of her. "After what he told me, and what we found out, I see no reason for him to go back. Do you?"

"You think you can keep this promise?" He asked, concern evident in a way he'd only show to her.

"I can, if you help."

'She's got you now' Severus thought as he sighed 'but you know you really want him, so whose got who?'

*EB*

That afternoon Elizabeth allowed herself a break from the hustle and bustle of the Common Room to reflect on her thoughts in the silence that surrounded the lake. The early evening air was cool and crisp in a clear example of the transition from summer to fall. The leaves on the trees were changing as well, but that processes seemed much slower than the one on her mind: getting Harry to speak to her.

She knew that Harry was hurt; she had seen it in his eyes for the past week. But just because she saw it didn't mean anyone else did. She could never fully grasp why he hung out with the people he did. They never realized when he was hurting, or bothered, hell they didn't even notice he was missing!

With a heavy sigh, Elizabeth shut her eyes and leaned back against the tree. At the moment she was no better than the rest of them; she had hurt him just as bad, if not worse, than anyone else. She had unknowingly set the stage for his trust in her to be destroyed. He had trusted her, like he had trusted everyone else he had told in the past, and with one wrong move, she had let him down.

That hurt her almost as much as it hurt him. But she was going to change that. She was going to build that trust up again, but this time it was not going to be just her, it was going to be for their dad as well.

As the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the lush green mountains surrounding Hogwarts, Elizabeth decided to make her way back to the warmth of the castle. Despite the chilly air, she had spent the better part of two hours thinking everything over until she was happy with the possible end result of her and her father's efforts. But she would talk those over with him later, first she wanted to get warm, then she wanted to spend some quality time with him before he left to spend the evening as a Death Eater he so very much hated to pretend to be.

*HP*

Harry found himself occupying the window seat that overlooked the darkening grounds. He had rejected Ron and Hermione's offer to go down to dinner. He hadn't been hungry, and he didn't feel like seeing Professor Snape or Elizabeth anyway. So instead he'd decided to take a shower and spend the rest of the evening looking out at the tranquil grounds yet not seeing them as he tried to clear his head.

He wasn't going to lie to himself, he was hurt. What Snape had said that afternoon had torn at him. It made Elizabeth a liar, and he didn't want to believe that. It didn't fit, not with her. She had invested too much of her time and her love in him only for it all to have been a lie. That was much more effort than anyone else, other than the Weasleys, had ever bothered to give for him.

Everyone else had simply lied to him. They'd merely looked at him and said the first thing that made themselves feel like they were doing their job. There was no time, no effort, and definitely no love wasted on him. But Harry knew this was different, it wasn't Elizabeth's job to care, it wasn't her job to do anything concerning him actually.

Harry sighed as his mind drifted. He still wanted his savior. He still wanted that loving home, he still wanted a family. He didn't want to go back to the abuse, to the neglect. He wanted what Ron and Hermione had. He wanted Elizabeth.

Sure he was upset with her, and hurt by a comment that would not have bothered him under any other circumstance, but she had given him what he needed. She had given him the love that he never had, she was the family he had always wanted. He wouldn't be neglected or abused. He would be safe. And at the moment that was all that mattered. Sure it seemed as if she had lied to him, but how did he really know? In a moment of pain had he just overreacted and destroyed everything? Had he, for a moment, taken the fact that she was a Slytherin and used it against her? Had he just lost the only person that he completely trusted?

He had no idea. But there was no way he would find the answers sitting on the window seat watching the moon slowly rise in the ink black sky. On the other hand he was also sure that he wasn't going to get them by marching down stairs and demanding answers. He would wait until Monday to talk to her again. It would give their emotions some time to simmer down. And it would also give him some time to think about what he would say to her. But that could wait until the morning, for now, he was going to bed.

AN : Another chapter, beta read by my amazing friend Hpgirl4ever!