I know it's been a while. I've been suffering writer's block all week, and
it's vacation from school this week. I make up for it with a longer
chapter. I've also made some changes in the first few chapters, especially
chapter one, so please look over them and tell me how they are.
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Severus was in a deep slumber when Harry came bursting through the door and pounced right on top of him. His eyes snapped open.
"Sev!"
"What the hell are you doing to me?" Severus yelled. "I could have killed you!"
Harry didn't look too bothered.
"Oh well. Sucks to be me then, right?" He grinned at Severus, who looked as though he'd been run over.
"I see you opened your presents?" Severus gestured at the laptop. Harry nodded. "You know, you can put a privacy charm on that so no one else can see what you're writing."
"Yeah, I thought about that," Harry said slowly. "I wanted to play around with it first, see what I could do."
Severus nodded, slowly trying to get his bearings back. After watching Harry play with the laptop for a few moments, he sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"I made sure it was the closest to a Muggle PC program there was," he said quietly. "There are the advanced disks next to mine if you want to upgrade."
"Yeah, I might have to," Harry said thoughtfully. "They had Windows NT, then 2K, which I'm not too fond of. This is NT."
"I've got the Wizard's XP over there," Severus yawned. "I take it you like it?"
"Yeah, I guess so..." Harry was too engrossed in personalizing the settings to pay much attention to what Severus was saying. He turned everything blue, though he knew he'd have to do it over again when he upgraded.
"Severus?"
"Yes, Harry?"
Harry looked over at him and smiled. "Thank you for the best Christmas present ever."
That made Severus' heart warm with joy he hadn't felt in many years. "You're welcome, Harry."
**************************************************************************** **********************************************
The laptop kept Harry occupied for over a fortnight before he realized he needed to put it aside and concentrate on his studies. He still wasn't talking to Ron and Hermione, though he knew that eventually, one of them would come back and say something. He really didn't care either way, as he preferred to be alone than constantly bothered. He still had his nightmares on the few nights that he couldn't stay awake, and they got worse as the days went by.
He was down in the Potions dungeon one day in late January, and Severus was working on his own potion across the room. Harry was halfway through with a Shape Reversing Potion when a strong wave of dizziness past over him. The next thing he knew, he was on the floor next to his cauldron, trying to clear his head.
"Harry?"
The voice sounded so far away, and Harry couldn't tell whose it was. He couldn't see in front of him either, and he was afraid to get up.
"Harry?" This time, it was closer and he felt something touch him. He flinched sharply away from it, trying to curl into a ball.
"It's me, Harry,"
Harry moaned as the panic began to rise up again. "No, please..." his voice cracked and faded away. Memories of the Dursleys flooded his mind and he started to cry like a baby.
"Harry?" The voice was a whisper, and very close to him. He felt someone kiss him softly and suddenly, his vision returned. Severus was kneeling in front of him.
"Se-Severus," Harry said, voice shaking. Severus opened his arms and Harry curled up as small as he could in his lap.
"I-I'm so sorry," he sobbed into Severus' robes. "I feel like such and idiot, crying like this."
"Harry, it's okay," Severus said reassuringly. "It's okay to cry, and sometimes you have to, just to let things go."
"I know, but it's so hard and I feel like I can't cry sometimes. And then things get so hard and I can't control anything anymore and it just comes out. And it makes me feel so stupid and childish." Harry cried harder at this, and Severus rubbed his back, rocking him back and forth a bit.
"You never had the chance to be a child, Harry," Severus said quietly. "Your relatives worked you like an adult from early on, and when you came here at eleven, you still didn't have a chance. You've seen things that no one, not even an adult should have to see. It's not fair to you or anyone else."
"Of course it's not fair!" Harry said, disgust lining his voice. "It's even more unfair that I have to see it and relive it every time I try to go to sleep!"
Severus began to say something, but stopped as he realized something. Harry hadn't been as full of energy since the middle of his fifth year, shortly after that Umbridge bitch denied him the privilege to play Quidditch. He also noticed Harry's lack of desire to play the sport this year, and his ever-increasing tiredness in class. He knew Harry suffered through frequent nightmares and visions from Voldemort after those Occlumency lessons the year before, and he'd known then that things at the Dursleys weren't good.
"Harry, can I ask you something?"
"Sure," Harry replied.
"When was the last time you had a decent night's sleep?"
Harry had to think about that one for a moment. "Um, I'm not sure. I think it was back in September." He shrugged. "Probably after the feast, I've always slept well after food like that."
"Would you like some Dreamless Sleep Potion to help for a little while?" Severus asked. "Just to get some energy so you don't look so crappy during the day?"
"Sure, if it helps." Harry said, sounding better. "And speaking of potions, what about the ones we were working on?"
"Oh, shit!" Harry moved out of the way as Severus leapt to his feet and looked at the two cauldrons. "They're fine," he said, sighing with relief. Harry stood up.
"We should probably finish them," he said slowly.
"Yeah, that would be a good idea," Severus agreed, walking over to his potion.
The remainder of the evening passed in silence as they finished brewing their potions. Harry cleared his cauldron and marked his vial before turning to leave.
"See you in the morning, Severus."
"Goodnight, Harry."
**************************************************************************** **********************************************
The last few days of January passed without any significant happenings. Harry was taking the Dreamless Sleep Potion for a few days, and it helped a lot. He felt like a new person, energetic, less irritable, and stressed out. His grades picked up a bit more, and he became a little happier.
And then he forgot to take the potion one night and his dreams attacked him again.
He stood against a wall, and he could hear voices from just around the corner.
"......we must get to him before he realizes his new powers, my Lord." It was Avery again, and two other Death Eaters Harry didn't know yet.
"Are you sure he is supposed to have these, powers, as you say?" Voldemort sounded skeptical.
"Yes," came the voice of Malfoy's father. "He was supposed to already have some form of it, but we are unsure of he does. After all, his kind of wizards and witches usually don't show any sign of these powers until they reach the day of their 16 and a half birthday."
"That is tomorrow!" Voldemort hissed. "How are we supposed to get him while he is at school, under the noses of those fools and Dumbledore?"
"You do remember that the Ministry is still suspicious of the headmaster, do you?" Avery asked. "We can give a surprise attack, or just sneak into the school and grab the boy. Our sons are there, and they can help us if we need them."
Voldemort paced in front of them.
"When is the next time you'll see your kids?"
"This weekend," Malfoy responded.
"Talk to them, find out what they know, and....." Voldemort's voice faded away.
Harry woke with a start, and looked at the clock. It was seven in the morning, and the dormitory was empty. He sat up and put his head on his chin, thinking.
Malfoy and Avery were in Slytherin, both hated Harry, and their fathers were Death Eaters. There was no way anyone could access school grounds unless they had access. Death Eaters who had kids in the school could, but if they took Harry, Dumbledore would know right away. Harry decided not to worry about it, and began to get dressed for classes.
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A week passed, and nothing happened to Harry. Neither Malfoy nor Avery acted any different around him; Malfoy kept bothering him and Avery just ignored him as always. Harry didn't mention his dream to anyone, and eventually forgot about it.
There was a Hogsmeade weekend just before Valentine's Day. Everyone went, even the teachers and the Headmaster. Harry went on his own, walking around a bit. He went and got some butterbeer, and continued wandering through the village.
Suddenly, he heard a series of loud pops from behind him and to his left. He spun around to see a group of Death Eaters raise their wands at him at the same time.
"Stupify!"
Harry dropped his butterbeer in fear and raised his hands as if he could defend himself that way. Then something shocking happened.
The Stunners that reached his hand rebounded off to the side, and the others froze in midair.
"I see you have some of your powers, Potter," The one in the middle said. It was Lucius Malfoy. "But let's see how well you can use them, shall we?"
He sent some curses towards Harry, who had no time to reach for his wand, nor did he know how to shield himself from so many spells at one time. Somehow, however, his 'powers' did, and a shield went up around him, swallowing the curses.
"Not bad for someone who has never used them before, am I right, Potter?" Avery moved forward in raised his wand. As he opened his mouth, Harry moved his hand up again, thinking he might block whatever curse he might get. Instead, he ended up sending Avery flying back into a tree. Two of the other Death Eaters helped him get up.
Malfoy turned to Harry, hatred in his cold grey eyes. "You son of a bitch."
"HARRY!!!"
The Death Eaters looked around and saw Dumbledore and some other teachers running towards them with their wands out. When they reached Harry, Malfoy, and the others, they stopped and looked at Malfoy.
"Hello, Dumbledore," Lucius' slippery voice greeted the headmaster. "I see you've brought the entire staff force with you today. How nice."
"What are you doing here, Lucius?" Dumbledore demanded, rage in his eyes.
"Like any other citizen, I am able to walk around Hogsmeade." Malfoy replied coolly. "After all, this isn't Hogwarts."
He turned, and paused for a moment. The next thing Harry knew, curses were flying back and forth. Suddenly, an explosion took place between them, stopping everything and everyone as they turned to see the cause of the explosion.
Severus Snape stood just outside the chaos that was frozen in mid-motion. He stalked between the two conflicting groups and stood in the center.
"A word of advice: This is not exactly the place or time to be doing this," He said to the Death Eaters. "The objective here is Potter, but this battle should occur in a place where there are few witnesses and no innocent children to be caught in the crossfire. Most of your children are here, and we need them for the future."
Harry was confused. Severus couldn't be on their side. He just couldn't be. But part of him said he'd been betrayed, somehow.
"Severus,"
"Yes, Lucius?" Severus turned to Malfoy.
"It's nice to see you outside of these robes and masks, as a teacher, again."
"Thank you."
Lucius raised his head. "We will leave," he began, looking at Dumbledore. "But this is not over. And we will return. Very shortly," he added, moving his gaze to Harry. "Make sure you work on those, powers, of yours. Wouldn't want you to not know how to use them properly."
They vanished, leaving the teachers and Harry standing there.
"Severus."
Severus turned to the headmaster.
"Explain yourself." Dumbledore said quietly, danger evident in his tone.
"I had to, Albus. You know that," Severus said. "You know where my loyalties lie."
"Do I?"
Severus frowned.
"How am I supposed to tell where you stand, after this?" Dumbledore stepped forward, his right hand clenching his wand. "You come here and act as if you knew this was going to happen, as if you were one of them."
"You should know, Albus," Severus snapped. "You know me better than anyone else, why don't you tell me? You know what I have to do, the things I have to say, everything. YOU know!"
No one said anything. They just stood there, watching him. He looked over at Harry, who was still confused and a little upset.
"You too?" He asked. "I figured as much. I knew it wouldn't last long."
"Severus, leave him out of this!" Dumbledore said sharply.
"Yeah, well, what about you, Albus?" Severus shot at him. "When are you going to stop being too angry to see the obvious and open your eyes a little more? When are you going to stop questioning my motives?"
"When you stop making me question you," Dumbledore responded acidly. "You're the one who said Harry was the objective here—"
"I said that because Harry's always the objective when it comes to that bunch of idiots!" Severus yelled, exasperated. "I came here to protect the rest of the students from getting hurt!"
"And made yourself look like one of them, a traitor of our side!" Dumbledore shouted.
"Don't give me that shit, Albus!" Severus said, his voice deadly, warning accenting every word. "You sent me on this mission; therefore, I have to keep my cover! If you don't like it, too bad! I'm doing this for you, Albus! Not for anyone else! Why can't you see that?"
"Because it doesn't look like it!" Dumbledore hissed coldly.
Severus looked at him and shook his head.
"You're just like my father, you know?" He said quietly, and turned to walk off.
Dumbledore went after him. "Severus!"
Severus spun around. "What?" He spat.
"Severus, calm down and listen to me!" Dumbledore said, grabbing Severus' arm.
"NO!!!" Severus yelled, trying to free his arm and failing. "Let me go! NOW!!!"
"No, Severus," Dumbledore said firmly. Suddenly, he was thrown backwards and into Professor McGonagall, who toppled over. Severus kept walking away. Harry ran after him.
"Severus, please," he begged.
"Harry, don't do this to me." Severus said.
Harry yanked him around. "Severus!"
Severus looked at Harry. "What, Harry?"
"Don't be mad at me, please!" Harry whined. "I thought it for a second, but before you looked at me! Listen, I'm confused, not about you, but those 'powers' that I just got done displaying! And Dumbledore, he's trying to make up for being mean to you! He's not your father, he's better! Believe me, please, Severus!"
Severus looked at Harry, then at Dumbledore.
"I do. And I'm sorry," he said.
"So am I, my dear boy," Dumbledore said, exhaustion lining his face. McGonagall stepped forward.
"Severus, you need to explain to Harry about these powers of his." She said.
"Let's return to the castle, and I will." Severus replied dryly, as they began walking back to the school.
**************************************************************************** **********************************************
"So what's this about my powers?" Harry asked.
They were all gathered in Dumbledore's office: McGonagall, Snape, Harry, and Dumbledore. Severus sighed before responding.
"Harry, you have several powers which you have no idea of. Because you are different from other wizards and witches."
"But, why? And what makes me so different?"
"You are a Charmed one, Harry," Dumbledore said. "You are one of a small group of people who are not only witches and wizards, but gifted as well. You have the ability to banish dark creatures and demons and other evil with these powers."
"Like the three witches on TV," Harry said aloud.
"Yes, but different from that. Yes, you can do what they do, but so much more."
"The question is, exactly what can you do?" Severus said. "Because every Charmed one is different and has different powers."
"And colors," Dumbledore added.
"Colors?"
"Yes, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said. "When you had your shield earlier, it was green. Mine is red, Albus' is blue, and Severus' is green as well."
"Your color is not only seen in your shield, but any magic that you project with your body," said Severus. "You can also change form, from human to human, or, if necessary, from human to animal. While you're changing, all we see is your color until you finish."
"Interesting." Harry said.
"You need to learn your powers, Harry," Dumbledore said. "And quickly. So that you can defend yourself and others from evil."
"I will, I promise." Harry said confidently.
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"I can teach you how to use them, Harry."
"Really?"
Severus and Harry were walking down to the dungeons. Students were drifting into the building in groups as the evening was approaching fast.
"How can you teach me?" Harry asked, looking at Severus.
"Because I am a Charmed one as well and I can."
"Just asking," Harry said.
"And I'm just answering. Get a sense of humor." Severus smiled.
"I have one," Harry shot back playfully.
"Sure. Whatever you say," Severus teased. They reached the Potions classroom, and Severus turned to Harry.
"Let's get started, shall we?"
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Well, there you go. That's ten pages according to Microsoft Word. I'm surprised my left wrist isn't in pain from typing for the last three hours. But I have things I need to do before going back to school tomorrow, so, I'll work on the next chapter and post it soon. In the meantime, please review!
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Severus was in a deep slumber when Harry came bursting through the door and pounced right on top of him. His eyes snapped open.
"Sev!"
"What the hell are you doing to me?" Severus yelled. "I could have killed you!"
Harry didn't look too bothered.
"Oh well. Sucks to be me then, right?" He grinned at Severus, who looked as though he'd been run over.
"I see you opened your presents?" Severus gestured at the laptop. Harry nodded. "You know, you can put a privacy charm on that so no one else can see what you're writing."
"Yeah, I thought about that," Harry said slowly. "I wanted to play around with it first, see what I could do."
Severus nodded, slowly trying to get his bearings back. After watching Harry play with the laptop for a few moments, he sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"I made sure it was the closest to a Muggle PC program there was," he said quietly. "There are the advanced disks next to mine if you want to upgrade."
"Yeah, I might have to," Harry said thoughtfully. "They had Windows NT, then 2K, which I'm not too fond of. This is NT."
"I've got the Wizard's XP over there," Severus yawned. "I take it you like it?"
"Yeah, I guess so..." Harry was too engrossed in personalizing the settings to pay much attention to what Severus was saying. He turned everything blue, though he knew he'd have to do it over again when he upgraded.
"Severus?"
"Yes, Harry?"
Harry looked over at him and smiled. "Thank you for the best Christmas present ever."
That made Severus' heart warm with joy he hadn't felt in many years. "You're welcome, Harry."
**************************************************************************** **********************************************
The laptop kept Harry occupied for over a fortnight before he realized he needed to put it aside and concentrate on his studies. He still wasn't talking to Ron and Hermione, though he knew that eventually, one of them would come back and say something. He really didn't care either way, as he preferred to be alone than constantly bothered. He still had his nightmares on the few nights that he couldn't stay awake, and they got worse as the days went by.
He was down in the Potions dungeon one day in late January, and Severus was working on his own potion across the room. Harry was halfway through with a Shape Reversing Potion when a strong wave of dizziness past over him. The next thing he knew, he was on the floor next to his cauldron, trying to clear his head.
"Harry?"
The voice sounded so far away, and Harry couldn't tell whose it was. He couldn't see in front of him either, and he was afraid to get up.
"Harry?" This time, it was closer and he felt something touch him. He flinched sharply away from it, trying to curl into a ball.
"It's me, Harry,"
Harry moaned as the panic began to rise up again. "No, please..." his voice cracked and faded away. Memories of the Dursleys flooded his mind and he started to cry like a baby.
"Harry?" The voice was a whisper, and very close to him. He felt someone kiss him softly and suddenly, his vision returned. Severus was kneeling in front of him.
"Se-Severus," Harry said, voice shaking. Severus opened his arms and Harry curled up as small as he could in his lap.
"I-I'm so sorry," he sobbed into Severus' robes. "I feel like such and idiot, crying like this."
"Harry, it's okay," Severus said reassuringly. "It's okay to cry, and sometimes you have to, just to let things go."
"I know, but it's so hard and I feel like I can't cry sometimes. And then things get so hard and I can't control anything anymore and it just comes out. And it makes me feel so stupid and childish." Harry cried harder at this, and Severus rubbed his back, rocking him back and forth a bit.
"You never had the chance to be a child, Harry," Severus said quietly. "Your relatives worked you like an adult from early on, and when you came here at eleven, you still didn't have a chance. You've seen things that no one, not even an adult should have to see. It's not fair to you or anyone else."
"Of course it's not fair!" Harry said, disgust lining his voice. "It's even more unfair that I have to see it and relive it every time I try to go to sleep!"
Severus began to say something, but stopped as he realized something. Harry hadn't been as full of energy since the middle of his fifth year, shortly after that Umbridge bitch denied him the privilege to play Quidditch. He also noticed Harry's lack of desire to play the sport this year, and his ever-increasing tiredness in class. He knew Harry suffered through frequent nightmares and visions from Voldemort after those Occlumency lessons the year before, and he'd known then that things at the Dursleys weren't good.
"Harry, can I ask you something?"
"Sure," Harry replied.
"When was the last time you had a decent night's sleep?"
Harry had to think about that one for a moment. "Um, I'm not sure. I think it was back in September." He shrugged. "Probably after the feast, I've always slept well after food like that."
"Would you like some Dreamless Sleep Potion to help for a little while?" Severus asked. "Just to get some energy so you don't look so crappy during the day?"
"Sure, if it helps." Harry said, sounding better. "And speaking of potions, what about the ones we were working on?"
"Oh, shit!" Harry moved out of the way as Severus leapt to his feet and looked at the two cauldrons. "They're fine," he said, sighing with relief. Harry stood up.
"We should probably finish them," he said slowly.
"Yeah, that would be a good idea," Severus agreed, walking over to his potion.
The remainder of the evening passed in silence as they finished brewing their potions. Harry cleared his cauldron and marked his vial before turning to leave.
"See you in the morning, Severus."
"Goodnight, Harry."
**************************************************************************** **********************************************
The last few days of January passed without any significant happenings. Harry was taking the Dreamless Sleep Potion for a few days, and it helped a lot. He felt like a new person, energetic, less irritable, and stressed out. His grades picked up a bit more, and he became a little happier.
And then he forgot to take the potion one night and his dreams attacked him again.
He stood against a wall, and he could hear voices from just around the corner.
"......we must get to him before he realizes his new powers, my Lord." It was Avery again, and two other Death Eaters Harry didn't know yet.
"Are you sure he is supposed to have these, powers, as you say?" Voldemort sounded skeptical.
"Yes," came the voice of Malfoy's father. "He was supposed to already have some form of it, but we are unsure of he does. After all, his kind of wizards and witches usually don't show any sign of these powers until they reach the day of their 16 and a half birthday."
"That is tomorrow!" Voldemort hissed. "How are we supposed to get him while he is at school, under the noses of those fools and Dumbledore?"
"You do remember that the Ministry is still suspicious of the headmaster, do you?" Avery asked. "We can give a surprise attack, or just sneak into the school and grab the boy. Our sons are there, and they can help us if we need them."
Voldemort paced in front of them.
"When is the next time you'll see your kids?"
"This weekend," Malfoy responded.
"Talk to them, find out what they know, and....." Voldemort's voice faded away.
Harry woke with a start, and looked at the clock. It was seven in the morning, and the dormitory was empty. He sat up and put his head on his chin, thinking.
Malfoy and Avery were in Slytherin, both hated Harry, and their fathers were Death Eaters. There was no way anyone could access school grounds unless they had access. Death Eaters who had kids in the school could, but if they took Harry, Dumbledore would know right away. Harry decided not to worry about it, and began to get dressed for classes.
**************************************************************************** **********************************************
A week passed, and nothing happened to Harry. Neither Malfoy nor Avery acted any different around him; Malfoy kept bothering him and Avery just ignored him as always. Harry didn't mention his dream to anyone, and eventually forgot about it.
There was a Hogsmeade weekend just before Valentine's Day. Everyone went, even the teachers and the Headmaster. Harry went on his own, walking around a bit. He went and got some butterbeer, and continued wandering through the village.
Suddenly, he heard a series of loud pops from behind him and to his left. He spun around to see a group of Death Eaters raise their wands at him at the same time.
"Stupify!"
Harry dropped his butterbeer in fear and raised his hands as if he could defend himself that way. Then something shocking happened.
The Stunners that reached his hand rebounded off to the side, and the others froze in midair.
"I see you have some of your powers, Potter," The one in the middle said. It was Lucius Malfoy. "But let's see how well you can use them, shall we?"
He sent some curses towards Harry, who had no time to reach for his wand, nor did he know how to shield himself from so many spells at one time. Somehow, however, his 'powers' did, and a shield went up around him, swallowing the curses.
"Not bad for someone who has never used them before, am I right, Potter?" Avery moved forward in raised his wand. As he opened his mouth, Harry moved his hand up again, thinking he might block whatever curse he might get. Instead, he ended up sending Avery flying back into a tree. Two of the other Death Eaters helped him get up.
Malfoy turned to Harry, hatred in his cold grey eyes. "You son of a bitch."
"HARRY!!!"
The Death Eaters looked around and saw Dumbledore and some other teachers running towards them with their wands out. When they reached Harry, Malfoy, and the others, they stopped and looked at Malfoy.
"Hello, Dumbledore," Lucius' slippery voice greeted the headmaster. "I see you've brought the entire staff force with you today. How nice."
"What are you doing here, Lucius?" Dumbledore demanded, rage in his eyes.
"Like any other citizen, I am able to walk around Hogsmeade." Malfoy replied coolly. "After all, this isn't Hogwarts."
He turned, and paused for a moment. The next thing Harry knew, curses were flying back and forth. Suddenly, an explosion took place between them, stopping everything and everyone as they turned to see the cause of the explosion.
Severus Snape stood just outside the chaos that was frozen in mid-motion. He stalked between the two conflicting groups and stood in the center.
"A word of advice: This is not exactly the place or time to be doing this," He said to the Death Eaters. "The objective here is Potter, but this battle should occur in a place where there are few witnesses and no innocent children to be caught in the crossfire. Most of your children are here, and we need them for the future."
Harry was confused. Severus couldn't be on their side. He just couldn't be. But part of him said he'd been betrayed, somehow.
"Severus,"
"Yes, Lucius?" Severus turned to Malfoy.
"It's nice to see you outside of these robes and masks, as a teacher, again."
"Thank you."
Lucius raised his head. "We will leave," he began, looking at Dumbledore. "But this is not over. And we will return. Very shortly," he added, moving his gaze to Harry. "Make sure you work on those, powers, of yours. Wouldn't want you to not know how to use them properly."
They vanished, leaving the teachers and Harry standing there.
"Severus."
Severus turned to the headmaster.
"Explain yourself." Dumbledore said quietly, danger evident in his tone.
"I had to, Albus. You know that," Severus said. "You know where my loyalties lie."
"Do I?"
Severus frowned.
"How am I supposed to tell where you stand, after this?" Dumbledore stepped forward, his right hand clenching his wand. "You come here and act as if you knew this was going to happen, as if you were one of them."
"You should know, Albus," Severus snapped. "You know me better than anyone else, why don't you tell me? You know what I have to do, the things I have to say, everything. YOU know!"
No one said anything. They just stood there, watching him. He looked over at Harry, who was still confused and a little upset.
"You too?" He asked. "I figured as much. I knew it wouldn't last long."
"Severus, leave him out of this!" Dumbledore said sharply.
"Yeah, well, what about you, Albus?" Severus shot at him. "When are you going to stop being too angry to see the obvious and open your eyes a little more? When are you going to stop questioning my motives?"
"When you stop making me question you," Dumbledore responded acidly. "You're the one who said Harry was the objective here—"
"I said that because Harry's always the objective when it comes to that bunch of idiots!" Severus yelled, exasperated. "I came here to protect the rest of the students from getting hurt!"
"And made yourself look like one of them, a traitor of our side!" Dumbledore shouted.
"Don't give me that shit, Albus!" Severus said, his voice deadly, warning accenting every word. "You sent me on this mission; therefore, I have to keep my cover! If you don't like it, too bad! I'm doing this for you, Albus! Not for anyone else! Why can't you see that?"
"Because it doesn't look like it!" Dumbledore hissed coldly.
Severus looked at him and shook his head.
"You're just like my father, you know?" He said quietly, and turned to walk off.
Dumbledore went after him. "Severus!"
Severus spun around. "What?" He spat.
"Severus, calm down and listen to me!" Dumbledore said, grabbing Severus' arm.
"NO!!!" Severus yelled, trying to free his arm and failing. "Let me go! NOW!!!"
"No, Severus," Dumbledore said firmly. Suddenly, he was thrown backwards and into Professor McGonagall, who toppled over. Severus kept walking away. Harry ran after him.
"Severus, please," he begged.
"Harry, don't do this to me." Severus said.
Harry yanked him around. "Severus!"
Severus looked at Harry. "What, Harry?"
"Don't be mad at me, please!" Harry whined. "I thought it for a second, but before you looked at me! Listen, I'm confused, not about you, but those 'powers' that I just got done displaying! And Dumbledore, he's trying to make up for being mean to you! He's not your father, he's better! Believe me, please, Severus!"
Severus looked at Harry, then at Dumbledore.
"I do. And I'm sorry," he said.
"So am I, my dear boy," Dumbledore said, exhaustion lining his face. McGonagall stepped forward.
"Severus, you need to explain to Harry about these powers of his." She said.
"Let's return to the castle, and I will." Severus replied dryly, as they began walking back to the school.
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"So what's this about my powers?" Harry asked.
They were all gathered in Dumbledore's office: McGonagall, Snape, Harry, and Dumbledore. Severus sighed before responding.
"Harry, you have several powers which you have no idea of. Because you are different from other wizards and witches."
"But, why? And what makes me so different?"
"You are a Charmed one, Harry," Dumbledore said. "You are one of a small group of people who are not only witches and wizards, but gifted as well. You have the ability to banish dark creatures and demons and other evil with these powers."
"Like the three witches on TV," Harry said aloud.
"Yes, but different from that. Yes, you can do what they do, but so much more."
"The question is, exactly what can you do?" Severus said. "Because every Charmed one is different and has different powers."
"And colors," Dumbledore added.
"Colors?"
"Yes, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said. "When you had your shield earlier, it was green. Mine is red, Albus' is blue, and Severus' is green as well."
"Your color is not only seen in your shield, but any magic that you project with your body," said Severus. "You can also change form, from human to human, or, if necessary, from human to animal. While you're changing, all we see is your color until you finish."
"Interesting." Harry said.
"You need to learn your powers, Harry," Dumbledore said. "And quickly. So that you can defend yourself and others from evil."
"I will, I promise." Harry said confidently.
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"I can teach you how to use them, Harry."
"Really?"
Severus and Harry were walking down to the dungeons. Students were drifting into the building in groups as the evening was approaching fast.
"How can you teach me?" Harry asked, looking at Severus.
"Because I am a Charmed one as well and I can."
"Just asking," Harry said.
"And I'm just answering. Get a sense of humor." Severus smiled.
"I have one," Harry shot back playfully.
"Sure. Whatever you say," Severus teased. They reached the Potions classroom, and Severus turned to Harry.
"Let's get started, shall we?"
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Well, there you go. That's ten pages according to Microsoft Word. I'm surprised my left wrist isn't in pain from typing for the last three hours. But I have things I need to do before going back to school tomorrow, so, I'll work on the next chapter and post it soon. In the meantime, please review!