"Professor?"

Severus looked up from the essays he was grading, watching as Potter…Harry…stepped cautiously over the threshold to his office. Like most of the other students here, his robes were black, but he wore a purple and gold badge on his chest, identifying him as one of the House of Merlin, the house created for the students who had missed the majority of their seventh year because of the Wizarding War. How infuriating it was, Severus thought, that this boy was given a second chance at finishing his schooling when it had been his decision to leave in the first place, and yet others who had done no wrong had been stripped of that same right.

"Be quick, Potter," he said, making an effort to thaw his usual frosty voice. This was not James; this was Harry. "I have work to do."

Harry's demeanor towards Severus had changed almost overnight since the Last Battle. Before he had always looked at him as Snape, the cold, unfeeling, bullying man that had hated his father, and had acted in kind. Now, he saw Severus differently, though Severus still hadn't decided if this was a good thing. He seemed perpetually guilty and almost unsure, as if he knew something was wrong but didn't know what to do about the problem.

"Well?" Severus asked when Harry remained silent.

Harry took a deep breath. "I…I just wanted to tell you…" He raised his eyes, and Severus felt Harry's mind open to his, so that Severus could feel the confusion as well as the honesty when he spoke. "I'm sorry, Professor."

Severus felt an eyebrow raise. "For what?"

Harry cautiously took a step further. "For how I behaved all this time," he said. "I…" He paused, and then suddenly blurted, "I acted like a git. You were just trying to keep me alive all this time, and even after I found out what really happened between you and my dad, I still acted like a git. I shouldn't have found out the way I did, and I should have apologized to you a long time ago." He took another deep breath. "I want you to know, no matter how I acted towards you after, I never agreed with what I saw in that memory. I never did and still don't think my dad was right for what he did."

Severus felt as though the floor had dropped out from under him. Of all the things he expected…but Harry was looking at him anxiously and he knew he had to say something.

"You," he said at last, "were not the only one at fault for the way we treated each other the last several years."

Harry looked relieved and grateful all at once, and Severus wondered if this was the first time he'd ever spoken to an adult in this way. Was this the first for both of them? And his eyes; the look in his eyes was almost more than Severus could stand…half admiration, half relief, and Severus for the first time found that he could look at this young man as Harry Potter. How could he have ever thought this kind (if sometimes unbearably arrogant and attention-seeking) soul had ever been anything but Lily's son?

The moment was becoming far too intense for Severus. "I see your potions has improved marginally," he mentioned, looking away from Harry and back at his papers. "How nice to see that our celebrity has finally decided to pay attention."

Harry chuckled, understanding the reason for the jab and taking it in stride.

"If you have nothing else, Potter, I would suggest you return to your dormitory. Potions tomorrow will not be an easy task."

"Yes, sir." Harry was almost to the door when he turned back. "Sir?"

Severus raised his eyes.

"If you have a time when you're not busy…could we…I mean…I'd like to talk about… about my mum…sometime."

Severus managed to hide his shock, but after taking a few moments to collect himself, he found that he had nodded. "I have Friday afternoons free until dinner, as do the members of Merlin's House. That might be a convenient time."

"And…sir?"

"Yes?"

Harry looked pale, but determined. "I…I was on my way to see Professor McGonagall a few days ago…and I couldn't help but overhear your conversation."

Severus was almost certain that Harry could help overhearing him, but he said nothing.

Harry crossed the room and slowly pulled something from his robes, laying it carefully on Severus' desk. "If you're planning what I think you are, you'll need this."

It was a wand. Fourteen inches long (he estimated) and the handle carved into what looked like a pinecone.

"I'm sure you know by now that I tell everything to Ron and Hermione," Harry said in what was almost a casual voice. "We want you to know, if you are planning to, we stand behind you. This wand belonged to Fred Weasley. Ron and George both think he'd want Hagrid to use it."