Authour's Note: I am very sorry for the long wait. I have been in the middle of the process of packing up everything and getting ready to move to college, and haven't been able to find time to update recently. Sorry again, and hopefully I should have the next chapter posted, by the latest, the twenty-third.

((The Pretender))

Severus sat alone in the dining room of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. He was trying to figure out how exactly to go about speaking with Longbottom. Especially since whenever the boy was in the same room as him he seemed about to wet his pants.

There was also the fact that he had no real way to talk to the boy in the first place. The obsidian-eyed man did not do well with sympathy and he didn't like to share his experiences, something that he would most undoubtedly have to do if he wanted to really snap Longbottom out of his stupor.

The door opened suddenly and Severus looked up. Neville had just entered the room, his expression that of vague surprise (if there was one such expression).

"I am guessing that Remmy sent you in here?"

The boy nodded.

"Sit down. The two of us need to talk."

Neville's eyes widened slightly, but he did as he was told. There was something about the professor's voice that always left no room for discussion. Something that said that if you didn't do as you were told that you would be skinned alive and hung by your extremities. It was something that Neville took to heart, and was thus the base of why he feared the man.

Severus surveyed the boy for a few moments and then let out a heavy sigh. "Look, Longbottom, I am not going to kill you. And you are not in school, so I cannot deduct any House points if you somehow irk me. Just listen to what I say. Once I am done, then you can decide whether or not you want to scream and head for the hills."

Neville blinked slowly and then nodded. He didn't really expect this from Snape. But of course, Lupin had probably forced her lover into doing this. Of course he'd be somewhat edgy.

"All right…. I know… I know that you are going through a hard time right now. At the moment, all you want to do is shut out the world and not deal with it. You want nothing to have changed. But that is not going to happen. It is impossible. It is impossible to change things that have already been."

Severus paused, thinking of what he would say next very carefully.

"When I was seventeen, my mother passed away. She had been ill for some time and there was nothing that anyone could do. But I had taken it as my duty a long time ago to make sure that she was safe. I thought that it was my fault. I thought that if only I was strong enough. If only I was there for her every time she asked me to come home from school. If only I had written her everyday. If only I had done at least something different, maybe she would have lived.

"I carried that guilt with me for a long time. I refused to let go. I began to blame my father for her death as well. My relationship with him was shattered, as I accused him of being weak. I told him that if only he was stronger, that she would be alive. But of course, that didn't help anything. It only made it worse. It was one less person that I could talk her death out with. One less person that would understand what I was going through. Hell, he was the only person…

"I can't really remember what it was that got me through it in the end. But I remember looking back through all of those years and thinking, 'I wasted all of that time just blaming people for something that I had no control over. What compelled me to do that? What would Mother say?'. It was that ironic moment that I realized, though I should always remember her, that I should have gone on with my life. By just sulking all of those years, I had simply desecrated her memory. I didn't want to do that anymore and I just… let it go."

The dark-haired man stared into a corner for a few moments, ignoring the bluriness that was slowly making it impossible to tell whether it was a houseplant or a Slytherin that stood in the corner. He cleared his throat and then cast his gaze upon Neville.

"That was all I have to say."

Neville nodded his head slowly.

Severus got up and made his way to the door. He was about to turn the knob when a thought came to him.

"I suggest that you patch things up with Miss Potter. She has been very worried about you and you have been pushing her away. It isn't good for either of you."

And with that, he left, leaving Neville alone in the kitchen, mulling over his thoughts.

((The Pretender))

A tentative knock at the door startled Harry out of her daydream and back to the real world.

"Come in." she called, rubbing at her eyes and sitting up on her bed.

Ginny, or Gin as he preferred to be called, slinked into the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He sat down on the bed next to Harry and looked at the girl expectantly.

Harry blinked. Well, this was odd, the girl thought. What on earth could the boy be waiting for?

"Is there something that I can help you with?" the ebony-haired girl asked, shifting uncomfortably.

Gin nodded his head, red hair falling into his face lightly. "Harry, when you turned into a girl, you acted really weird around me. I just want to know why."

"Oh…" Harry said softly. She shifted her gaze to the floor as she felt her cheeks redden.

"Do you not like me?"

"What?" Harry asked, her head snapping back up. At the hurt look on Gin's face, she quickly moved off of her bed and onto Gin's, taking his chin in hers and making the boy look straight at her, "No! I could never not like you."

"Then why?" Gin asked, his eyes pleading.

The ebony-haired girl was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say next. With a deep sigh, she plunged ahead, "Before I changed, I was in the middle of writing a letter to you. A… uh… well, I guess it could be only what could be described as a love letter. I didn't know how to tell you face to face about my feelings, so I figured if I wrote them down…" Harry realized that she was babbling and stopped herself, "Pretty much, I was just pissed because I lost my chance to tell you how I felt. I mean, I really doubted that you would want to be with me. I was a girl, for Merlin's sake! You know how confusing that would be?"

"That's why you avoided me?" Gin asked slowly.

"Yeah."

Gin picked up a pillow and hit his friend in the face with it. "You are such an idiot, Harry!" he exclaimed with a wide grin plastered upon his face.

"What, you still like me…? Even though…"

"Even though you were and are a girl. Yeah. You are such an idiot sometimes."

"Well excuse me."

"What about Neville?"

Harry stopped dead, the smile wiped from her face. She swallowed hard, "What about him?"

"How do you feel about him?"

Harry bit her lip. How did she feel about Neville? Everything had been so hectic lately that it seemed that all of her relationships were either escalating really fast or slowing down quickly. Her friendship with Neville was definitely one of the escalating ones. One day they had been just friends, the next they were sleeping in the same bed and then kissing. It felt like something more than friendship, but not quite like love. Harry had no idea what it was, and it confused her greatly.

And now, the ebony-haired girl turned towards Gin. Before the incident, Harry was all but eager to confess her love to him. But now… Now it was just too confusing. She didn't feel that lump in her throat when she looked at him anymore. She didn't get all sweaty and nervous. She didn't feel that twinge of want. There was only the knowledge of a strong bond of friendship. And in a way, it disappointed her…

"Harry? Harry, you in there?" Gin asked, his voice breaking through Harry's clattered thoughts.

"Hm?" Harry responded, focusing her eyes once again on the boy.

"You really don't know, do you?" the sapphire-eyed boy asked, his smile slightly sad.

And the girl couldn't protest, for it was the complete and utter truth.

But then, she felt a weight upon her right arm. She looked down and saw a hand gripping her gently. Emerald eyes darting upward, she was caught by the intent gaze of Gin. The boy was leaning in closer and closer. Harry's heart beat against her rib cage, and she was sure that the boy could hear it.

"What are you-?" Harry began to ask, but her question was cut off by a pair of soft, pale lips placing themselves upon hers.

Then there was the opening of the door, and Harry could see the brown-headed figure of Neville out of the corner of her eye. She broke the kiss and stared wide-eyed at Neville, who had gone pale as soon as he had seen the two.

The young man muttered something akin to 'Never mind' under his breath and then ran out of the room.

((The Pretender))

Conditions Met:

1. More than one character must have their gender switched.
2. They are switched involuntarily.
3. Snape gets somebody to love.
4. At least one person dies.