Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure she writes faster that I do.

excessivelyperky still rocks hard. That hasn't changed, nor is it likely to. As always, thanks so much for your edits and insight.

This chapter is dedicated to Jason, my 500th reviewer. Jason is also the one who suggested Harry would never have stopped communicating with his friends that easily.

Author's Notes: It has been far too long, and I do apologize. I could offer a lot of lame excuses, but perhaps you would rather read the chapter instead?

Enjoy

Chapter 31

Into Temptation

Ronald Weasley took a few frantic swipes at the fuzzy, black spider as it swung precariously from a clump of his red hair. He missed the creature as it seemed to arc its web out of range with deliberate purpose only to land delicately on his face once more. The boy crabwalked backwards from where shock had landed him on the floor of the Great Hall as if that might allow him escape from the tiny monster.

"I don't like spiders," he admitted mournfully, as it came to rest on the triangle of skin where the line of his nose met his forehead. The boy slapped a palm flat on the spot in an attempt to swat the thing. His actions reminded Severus for all the world of Dobby when the elf was trying to punish himself.

Severus suddenly had an inkling as to why Potter had laughed so heartily when he had uttered these same words when first shown the Arachnid charm the previous day. Draco, who now stood beside him, chuckled enthusiastically at the redhead's predicament. He was no doubt enjoying the added knowledge of the significance of Weasley being attacked by a spider so soon after Harry had stormed angrily from the scene of his age of independence celebration.

As Snape was still sporting Goyle's countenance, no one would have thought a thing of it if he had laughed as well. But the humor of the situation was wasted on Severus who was still smarting intensely from the marathon tongue lashing he had received from McGonagall earlier. The fierce witch had kept him up in her office since dawn when she had summoned him. McGonagall hadn't told him off so quite so thoroughly since his third year when he had transfigured Pettigrew into a rather large and ill formed potato bug in the middle of her classroom. After having awakened him at such a painfully wee hour, she spent the better part of the morning threatening and attempting to bully Severus against following the Headmaster's orders regarding allowing Voldemort to capture Potter. She claimed not to give two Knuts about the prophecy.

Severus had told her everything, though Albus had initially instructed he only give what information was absolutely necessary. After forty-five minutes or so of her sharp rebukes, he decided all the information was necessary. Why Albus had insisted he inform Minerva of anything at all, Severus couldn't fathom. It would have been much simpler if he and Potter were to just leave the castle without her knowledge when it came time to meet up with the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. The Headmaster knew better than anyone that you couldn't get past McGonagall with half truths.

Minerva informed the younger wizard in no uncertain terms that no prophecy was worth Harry's life. Severus would have expected no less from the woman. Harry was one of her lion cubs, and he knew how she felt. Severus felt the same about his snakes, and he had in fact ceased to think of Harry solely as a Gryffindor. The boy had merged in his thoughts as some sort of gryffin/snake cross breed. And after so many years of covertly protecting him, it tore at Severus' very foundation to put him in harm's way. And yet he still felt compelled to do so. He had been obeying Albus for over twenty-five years, since age eleven. He tried to explain to Minerva that it seemed impossible to do otherwise, especially when the Headmaster insisted that the stakes were so high. Minerva had savagely admonished him, saying if that were the case, then it was high time he grew a backbone.

"But even if you cannot, Severus, I'll still not allow you to harm the boy," she chastised sounding dangerously maternal.

It made Severus lament, not for the first time, that McGonagall hadn't been his Head of House and therefore inclined to feel motherly towards him when Albus had sent him off to a similar, but much worse, fate when he had been about Harry's age. But Severus hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor, nor Ravenclaw like his mother before him. Albus had seen to that personally when he delivered Severus' Hogwarts letter to Spinners End those many years ago. Handing over the thick cream colored envelope with the red, waxy Hogwarts seal, Albus told the boy with a conspiratorial wink, that he would be most dismayed and a tad disappointed if he were sorted anywhere but Slytherin. It had been the first of many such subtly manipulative orders that eleven year old Severus had learned to recognize and obey as the Headmaster issued them over the years. Albus had spent a great deal of time speaking to his father that day as well. Tobias had been furious when the old wizard left. To Severus' relief, he didn' t thrash him, but he spent the evening muttering snide rhetoricals.

"So our Severus is an important young wizard is he?" Tobias had questioned with a trademark Snape sneer. "Our lad has a significant role to play he does," the man fumed as he cast angry, wary looks in Severus' direction.

Severus didn't realize until he began teaching, that personal delivery of one's Hogwarts letter by the Headmaster was a trifle unusual. But as a result, he had not wound up one of Minerva's cubs, compelling her to feel maternal, nor had he been sorted as one of Flitwick's ravens, to inspire his paternal instincts. It left Severus with a hopeless Housemaster like Slughorn to look out for his interests, however much the Sorting Hat insisted he would do well in either of the other houses during his long negotiation with it the evening of his welcoming feast. Of course Severus had long ago learned that you could never count on anyone truly looking out for your interests, be they mother, father, brother, or friend.

The Weasley twins were illustrating his point quite aptly as they stood near hysteria with laughter and made no attempt assist their younger brother as he battled the tiny arachnid. Nor did Granger or Longbottom move to Ronald's aid Severus noted; perhaps they were in shock. They rather looked it, standing with their mouths agape as spider Harry carried out his prank at his best mate's expense. Young Ginerva, to Snape's amazement, looked his way and donned a rather sympathetic smile. At first this confused him. Does she somehow know I detest spiders as well? He wondered, and then he realized her look was sympathy for the prank Boggart. The horrid thing, complements of annoying Ronald and his equally aggravating twin brothers, had taken on Albus' form and proceeded to give Severus a good telling off in front of a room full of Gryffindors. Just like old times, he thought bitterly. He supposed he should feel grateful that the Boggart had not turned into Minerva, after a morning with her that felt like old times as well. She had dismissed him with the ominous threat that she would discuss what parts of the situation she felt prudent with the Order members and get back to him. She was meeting with several members in her office at present. McGonagall had not said whether she was going to reveal his identity, and he had been too apprehensive to ask. Severus was half expecting one or two of them to arrive any moment and deliver a killing curse.

Perhaps it was Ginerva's kind look that prompted him to offer her irritating brother a hand. The Gryffindors were no doubt shocked by the image of Gregory Goyle offering assistance to Ron Weasley.

"All right there Weasley?" asked the Slytherin as he extended a hand to the other boy. "I don't like spiders myself," he admitted as he lightly swatted at the cause of the excitement with one hand and gestured to help Weasley to his feet with the other.

"That will do, Potter," he thought along the Occlumency pathway, trying to make the admonishment sound stern and apparently failing.

The spider clung briefly to the back of his hand. He heard Harry's laugh along the link as he scurried out of sight along the underside of his arm. Snape suppressed a shudder as he reminded himself it was only Potter. He had to admit, it was a handy charm.

It was almost as though the Weasley boy could sense his best friend poking fun at him with a Slytherin, such force did he put into slapping the proffered hand away.

"I don't need any help from the likes of you. Go bugger yourself, you sodding Slytherin," Weasley spat as he scrambled to his feet.

Snape supressed a moment of shocked anger and then adopted a perfect tone of teacherly reprimand.

"If you are that fascinated with buggery, perhaps you would benefit from a month's detention bottling kneazle excrement, Mr. Weasley," Snape suggested dryly. From the looks on the Gryffindors faces, they thought Goyle had just done a bloody brilliant impression of Snape.

"Kneazle excrement?" Ronald intoned disgustedly.

"You know, Weasley," Draco put in helpfully. "A kneazle is a bit like a cat," the boy explained. "It's likely the closest thing to a pussy--" he paused for effect, "cat, you'll ever see."

Snape gave his godson a sharp censuring frown for his crass remark, but he couldn't very well hold it. It wasn't the sort of comment Draco would generally dare make in his presence, but it complimented his remark flawlessly.

He held eye contact long enough to pick up Draco's thought. "Sorry, Uncle Severus, just trying to help!" Harry answered from inside the link with a chuckle. Severus turned away from Draco with a discomfited twitch. One irritating brat inside his head at the moment was one too many.

Severus treated Weasley to an extremely dark glare as the Slytherin spun away to rejoin Malloy. When Snape felt his robe swish with the abrupt movement, he pondered that if he were not more careful the lions might speculate that Goyle's impersonation of his Head of House was a bit too spot on. As it was, Fred and George Weasley began to laugh louder during the exchange.

"Do you guys practice that?" One twin guffawed.

"That was the best impression of Snape I've ever seen, Goyle," chortled the other. "But I bet twenty galleons you won't share your naughty kneazle bit with McGonagall, Malfoy," he wagered.

"I'm surprised a Weasley has twenty galleons, but I'm certain I won't either," the blond wizard agreed.

"You should shut your filthy mouth, Malfoy!" Ronald ordered, launching himself at the blond Slytherin. "There are girls here."

Weasley was tackled by Longbottom before he could reach him, and wound up on the floor again.

"Take it easy, Ron," Longbottom suggested reasonably while holding him down. "I'm sure Harry wouldn't appreciate a fight breaking out at his party. Not to mention, your parents and the Headmistress are in the castle."

"I do apologize, ladies," Malfoy intoned with a courtly bow in the direction of the Weasley girl and Granger.

"I can't believe Harry would take their side against ours," young Ronald was spitting at his fellow Gryffindors as he shook Longbottom off and regained his feet. He looked around fervently as though attempting to rally them to action. As Severus fought not to raise a patented eyebrow, he heard Harry laugh again along the link.

"Ron gets a little wound up. But he does kind of have a point doesn't he, Snape?"

Severus tried to muster up some annoyance at the boy's use of his name. But as such deception was impossible in the pathway, he was unsuccessful. He settled for scolding him instead.

"As much as I appreciate your gesture of exacting revenge on my behalf, I said, that will do, boy. Now show yourself. I have no wish to spend the afternoon babysitting a room full of sullen Gryffindimwits."

"Come on, Ron," Ginerva put in irritably. "Harry isn't taking their side against ours."

"What would you call sticking up for them then?" He questioned angrily. "Harry didn't even hint at any of this in his letters," Weasley ranted to Granger. "He's too bloody ashamed most likely."

"Letters?" Snape asked along the pathway. This time his tone found the sternness he had been searching for earlier and he felt Harry's emotions shift nervously in the link.

"Just said he'd gone to start his training and he couldn't tell us anything," he continued to harangue at Granger. "Well small wonder he couldn't tell us anything if he was spending all his time cozying up to the snakes," Weasely opined venomously.

"Oh, honestly, Ronald," Granger finally interrupted. "It makes sense that Harry wouldn't be able to explain everything in an open letter," she expounded haughtily. "And he hasn't been here the whole time. He made that clear. We are lucky he's been able to send us any letters at all since leaving Privet Drive," she huffed. "It must be terribly dangerous."

"You've been bloody writing to your friends this whole time, even when we were in Ireland?" Snape was fairly seething into the link now. "Answer me, you little dunderhead," he ordered when he got no response.

"I'll say it's dangerous." Ron frowned disgustedly. "He's gone all Slytherin is what." Young Weasley was fairly foaming about the mouth as he flailed one arm and stomped the opposite foot. It put Severus in mind of a blast ended skrewt.

"Well we have come to think of Harry as something of an honorary Slytherin." Draco drawled with false helpfulness.

He got everyone in the room's attention, and Snape looked at him extra sharply.

"What? You disagree?" Draco drawled. He was having far too much fun as far as Snape was concerned.

"Hardly," the Potions Master acknowledged in a rigid tone that was directed internally at Harry rather than Draco. "Excuse me a moment," Snape bit out as he made his way to the doors of the Great Hall. Just as he passed through he felt Harry's presence, which had grown rather intense since mention of the letters, exit the link. He realized the boy must have jumped from his hiding place among his robes. As he swirled to look behind him he saw the tiny spider scamper away and then stop. It turned, at a speed that could only be described as reluctant, and faced him. Snape was about ten feet away. If it was possible for a spider to look nervous, Harry managed it. He shifted from one little black leg to another as Snape stared him down from the distance.

"Transform at once," he commanded icily. "And come," Severus ordered as he spun away. He did not spare a glance to confirm that Harry had obeyed as he made his way across the entryway to the door of the boy's toilet.

When he did look back he noted that Potter had obeyed the order to transform, but had moved no closer and indeed seemed to be considering the wisdom of bolting. His green eyes appeared to scan the entryway for likely exits.

Dangerously low on patience, Severus used his wand to help the boy make the right decision. Harry looked quite startled at the first magical tug of the ear pulling charm. As Snape angled his wand to draw the boy closer, his cheeks seemed to color with embarrassment, and as he was unceremoniously chucked through the toilet door as the spell canceled the boy looked downright mortified.

Snape transformed into himself and raised his wand menacingly, causing Harry to brace as he rubbed his sore ear, but he only cast a silencing and locking spell over his shoulder while holding Harry's eyes with his dark angry gaze.

"What the bloody, buggering hell, did you imagine you were doing, you reckless, irresponsible brat of a boy?" A rational part of Severus' mind knew that his over the top anger was in part due to Minerva's harsh treatment. The brief visit from Boggart Albus hadn't helped either. And, like the good Gryffinsnake he had become, Harry was providing a reasonable outlet for his anger. However, it was not as though the little idiot didn't deserve it.

At first the boy looked a trifle concerned to be reprimanded thusly. Then he donned a mischievous expression as though he hoped to cheek his way out of the difficulty. Severus had obviously allowed him to do so far too many times recently.

"Come on, I'm celebrating a birthday here," Harry argued with an overdone pout.

"Which is the only reason I didn't use a more impressive spell to convince you to join me for this meeting," Severus countered silkily. "I have a startling repertoire," he assured the boy. "Care for a demonstration?" He noted with satisfaction the boy's emphatic shake of the head before continuing in quietly menacing tones. "You've been owling your friends this whole time, you stupid boy?"

"I didn't owl," Harry responded as though a bit offended. "I wouldn't have owled. I used Fawkes and then Dobby. I had to contact them," the boy stopped as though searching for words. "They're my best friends, Snape."

The Potions Master wasn't sure whether the boy still didn't sound a bit cheeky.

"I am quite certain I did not give you leave to call me that?" Snape rapped out menacingly.

"No, sir, but what did you expect me to do?" The question seemed sincere. "They're my friends," Harry repeated in a voice that begged to be understood.

"Foolishly, I didn't expect you to deceive me and put us in more danger," Snape returned in snide anger.

"I didn't deceive you," Potter argued. "You didn't say I couldn't contact them. How did I put us in danger?"

"Potter, you are enough of a bloody nitwit that you need not be deliberately dense! How could your behavior not put us in danger, you arrogant little fool?" He seethed. "If you thought it was fine that you were remaining in contact with your little friends, why is it you never mentioned it?"

"You don't inform me about every owl you send?" Potter answered with a bit of impish defiance. But then his look turned immediately wary and he shrunk back a pace as though Severus' hard answering glare made him regret his words or perhaps consider their consequences.

"Now is not the time for you to test that alleged Gryffindor courage, Potter. I assure you it is not," Snape warned dangerously. But once he pushed aside Harry's impertinence, his conscience screamed out that the boy was right. There was much Snape wasn't telling him. And due to the prophecy he was the one placing them both in grave danger. Severus suddenly ran out of steam. How would this conversation play out when Severus was forced to betray the boy? Now was certainly not the time to be scolding him on the topic of dishonesty. It was probably not the time to be scolding the boy on any topic. He looked at Harry, abruptly wanting this conversation to be over and wondering if his swift desire for surrender bled through. Snape forced his voice to go harsh.

"Get out of my sight, you irresponsible boy," he spat with as much venom as he could muster.

The boy could not have reacted more if Snape had struck him. And Severus well remembered the sting of such words when leveled at him by Albus.

"Wait," Harry began helplessly. "No… I… you…"

"Yes, I know, Potter. I did not say you could not contact them. You have already made that brilliant argument. Now get out of my sight this instant."

"No, wait. Come on, sir…" the boy almost pleaded. "All right… all right… I knew you wouldn't like me contacting them, so I…yeah I shouldn't have done that," the boy babbled. "That was wrong… I'm sorry, all right. I am. Come on…"

"Go, Potter," Snape ordered in an unyielding tone.

"No," the boy argued in a hurt voice that sounded very young all of a sudden. "Honest, Snape ...I'm…I shouldn't have done that. Okay. I said I was sorry."

"And I'm quite certain I said you were to get out of my sight," Snape observed, finally managing the right tone to make the boy obey.

888

Harry worried his lower lip between his teeth as he exited the boys' toilet. It felt like a long time since Snape had been this mad at him. In fact, Harry found himself wondering if Snape had ever been this mad before, because Harry had certainly never cared this much about it. He quickly dismissed the thought as ridiculous. Of course Snape had been this angry with him before. Snape had been mad at him his whole childhood. This was the same Snape who gleefully took points and enthusiastically assigned detentions. Not to mention the same Snape who would shake you till your teeth rattled and chuck cockroaches at your head if you were stupid enough to look in his pensieve. As he slowly made his way back to the Great Hall, Harry admitted he had seen Snape angry far too many times to count.

What had changed though was his reaction to Snape's anger. It bothered him quite a lot. Snape's cruelty had always vexed him, but in a different way. When Snape used to always be cruel to him it made Harry hate him, and feel bloody righteous doing so. Now, Harry was feeling like maybe Snape hated him. Hopefully hate is too strong as word, Harry reasoned. Certainly Snape doesn't hate me again, Harry thought. But the man had made it plain he certainly didn't like the younger wizard just now.

The anxiety Harry was experiencing was decidedly different than what he had felt when the Headmaster had been cross with him. That had made him feel extremely sad, but also exceedingly confused. Harry still wasn't clear on why the Headmaster had suddenly begun to reprimand him for the same sort of things he used to get away with. Neither were Harry's feelings regarding Snape's current anger similar to how Harry felt when McGonagall was annoyed with him. While it was true the stern witch scared him more than a little, he never cared about her anger any longer than it took her to finish telling him off. Harry never carried with him any lasting concern that McGonagall might be disappointed in him once she was done with a well aimed rebuke. He certainly never worried about whether the Headmaster or McGonagall hated him. The distress Harry felt right now didn't even compare to how it felt to have Remus upset with him for the past few weeks.

After the incident with Tonks Harry had been stubborn and defiant and full of I'm almost a full grown wizard bluster But by that evening he felt a bit horrified about the disrespectful way he had spoken to Remus, who was after all one of his parents only living friends. Dinner had been in the Great Hall with the Headmistress and all the Order members. Harry had arrived late to the evening meal and the only seat available had been across from Remus. His favorite former professor had regarded him with a rather heartbroken, disappointed look and then refrained from further eye contact. Harry had felt ashamed, a bit like he had third year. Remus had rescued him from getting caught after curfew with the Marauders Map by Snape, only to take him into his office to give him a stern talking to, all the while wearing that same heartrendingly disappointed expression. After sitting through an entire meal with Lupin wearing that dreaded look on his countenance and knowing that he was the cause of it, Harry had quickly found him and apologized the next morning. Lupin had graciously admitted that he wished he had handled things differently as well.

"Tonks explained everything, Harry," he told the young man and looked sympathetic when the younger wizard blanched at the word everything. "She had to, or I never would have believed that nothing happened. Werewolves have a rather keen sense of smell you are aware," Harry paled even further as he took in the implication of that. "Still," Remus continued. "As much as I over reacted, I think your behavior was extremely ungentlemanly, both in the way you spoke to me, and the fact that you approached Tonks in the first place," Remus held up a hand as Harry opened his mouth to speak. "Putting aside the fact that you are a child and disregarding the fact that you've had a crush on Tonks, would you ever think it sporting to go after Hermione the moment she and Ron had a row?"

Harry opened and closed his mouth a few times in shock while he puzzled out how to respond.

"No," he finally breathed.

"You see?" Remus continued. "And thus, I am rather disappointed." Harry had actually left Remus' quarters feeling worse than he had before coming. He spent the rest of the week swinging back and forth between trying to figure out a way to make it up to the other wizard and being annoyed that Remus hadn't just told him he was forgiven. Harry still was uncomfortable around the man. He felt a bit like he had after his row with the Headmaster, Harry wanted nothing more than to avoid Remus in hopes that things would iron themselves out on thei own.

That isn't how I feel right now, Harry thought, as he pulled open the heavy wooden door to the Great Hall. He wanted nothing more that to go back and try to apologize again. When Snape had ordered him out of his sight it somehow felt like the cruelest thing the man had ever said to him. And for someone as talented at cruelty as Snape, that was saying something. After years of not giving a damn what Snape thought, the idea that Harry cared so much that the man was angry was saying something as well.

As though all of Harry's birthday wishes were destined to be denied today, his wish to avoid the uncomfortable issue that was Remus Lupin was denied as well.

"You are telling me that you children have no idea where Harry is," Harry heard Remus ask Ron and Hermione rather sternly as he entered.

"Oh, he's there, sir," Neville supplied in a relieved tone as he indicated Harry's entrance.

Neville wasn't the only one who seemed relieved. Remus and Hagrid, who stood near him, did also.

"Harry!" Remus greeted, with a surprising amount of feeling after the rough couple of weeks they'd had.

"Yes sir?" Harry answered, not at all comfortable with this dramatic change in emotion.

"And Mr. Goyle is?" Remus asked in what seemed a deceptively casual voice.

"He's in the loo, sir?" Harry offered tentatively, for all the world feeling like he had just betrayed Snape.

"Hagrid, will you see these children safely to the dungeon while I collect Mr. Goyle?"

"What's wrong, Remus?" Harry asked suspiciously, his senses suddenly at full alert.

He apparently wasn't the only one. The Gryffindors looked ready to mutiny if they didn't get some answers fast.

It was Hagrid who spoke, and he looked like he did when he was about was about to give away information that perhaps he shouldn't. As he spoke, though, Harry sensed that it wasn't quite the truth.

"Headmistress got word there may'ot be Death Eaters about, and we're ter move you lot ter a safe location till we get things sorted."

This announcement was met with thunderous complaints and the students wouldn't start moving until Remus promised that they would all be pressed into service if the need arose.

As the Gryffindors and Malfoy made their way into the Slytherin Common Room, one would have thought with the threat of attack, Ron might give up on his earlier tirade. However, the fact that he would be forced to spend time in Slytherin territory only seemed to heighten his aggression.

"What the bloody hell are we doing down here?" Ron started up nearly the second the portrait hole closed.

"Welcome to House Slytherin," Malfoy intoned graciously. "Please do make yourselves at home."

Ron snorted derisively.

"Shall we slide around on our bellies?"

"Oh, not at all, Weasel," Malfoy returned. Not in the least insulted. "No reason to stand on ceremony. Tell them Harry," he instructed the other boy. "We actually sit on furniture, don't we? Yes that's right, Weasley," he winked at the redhead. "Harry's been living down here as well. Honorary Slytherin and all that."

"He's been living down…what? Ron demanded incredulously, just as Harry turned to Draco.

"Shut it, Malfoy

"Oh, honestly, Ronald," Granger chastised. "He's having you on."

"Oh, but I'm not Granger," Malfoy said sweetly.

Almost as one the Gryffindors turned to stare at Harry in disbelief. He let their silence bounce around the dungeon for a while until he finally responded in angry exasperation.

"What?"

"Harry?" Ron croaked.

"What. Ron." He bit out, more of a curse than a question.

"Why would you be living down here mate?" Ron asked in a broken voice. It was in stark contrast to his earlier rant. His friend sounded as idiotically hurt as Harry had ever heard him. And suddenly, he lost all patience.

"It's because I've gone Dark, Ron," Harry spat drawing his wand. "Isn't that what you have been saying?"

"Now thots enuff 'o thot," Hagrid chastised immediately. "Harry put yer wand away and I mean right now eh? Now, Ron," he said looking at the redhead. "Headmistress ordered Harry to bunk in down 'ere. Din' want the Order spread too thin protecting 'im and Malfoy. Ain't thot right 'arry?"

"No," Harry answered, having disobeyed Hagrid's instruction to stow his wand. "It's because I've gone Dark like Ron said. Want to see a curse mate?" He asked his friend who was looking at him with a rather guarded expression. "Come on," Harry cajoled winningly. "You'll like this one," Harry assured raising his wand. "Cru…" Harry began as Ron's eyes went wide, and Ginny let out a screech. And although he would have never cast the curse, and he certainly didn't mean it, Harry could not have picked a worse time to make such a tasteless joke.

It was at that moment, Severus Snape entered the common room. The Potions Masters eyes met Harry's and before the boy could explain himself he seemed to have his wand in hand.

"Imobulus Maximus," Snape cast a spell that froze everyone in the Common Room save Harry. He transformed before taking three determined strides forward and whispering, "Harry. James. Dungwit. Potter," in a dangerously calm voice. Harry almost wished the man would shout. And it seemed, contrary to his earlier belief, this birthday wish would be granted. "How dare you cast that spell, you little fool!" The man suddenly bellowed just inches from the boy's face.

"I didn't... I wasn't..." Harry tried to explain.

"You didn't? You weren't?" Snape mocked. "What in Merlin's name is the mater with you, boy? Did you fall from your broomstick and injure you head? How many times do you think you can get a way with casting that curse before it actually hits?"

"No, wait." Harry begged needing to be understood. "I didn't mean it. I was just kidding around."

"Kidding around?" Snape spat incredulously. "With the Cruciatus Curse? You stupid irresponsible, brat. You have attempted that curse three times now by my reckoning. Have there been others?"

"No, sir!" Harry said stridently. "I wasn't gonna say it. You gotta believe me, Snape. Ron was just being an arse like earlier. So I said wanna see a curse see? But I wouldn't have..." Harry tried to explain. "I wasn't."

Snape paused and gave the boy perhaps the hardest look Harry and ever been subjected to.

"How dare you toy with such things?" Snape began, his voice going quiet again. "If you tempt it enough times your magic will answer. If you ever attempt to cast an Unforgivable curse again," Snape promised in his deadliest tone, "I shall confiscate that wand of yours and forbid you its use until such time as it can be determined that you are no longer suffering from such an appalling excess of stupidity as to think the words Cruciatus and kidding could possibly belong in the same sentence."

Snape paused for moment and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"In fact, I will have your wand now," the Potions Master ordered and held out his hand

"Yes, sir," Harry paled, but handed it over without argument.

"Come," the elder wizard commanded. "Obliviate Maximus," he said with a wave of his wand toward the frozen crowd before exiting the portrait hole.

Even after they left the dungeons and made their way out of the castle, Harry did not comment, so afraid was he that Snape had some unspeakably harsh punishment in mind. It turned out he was more correct than he ever would have imagined. It wasn't until they reached the apparation barrier and Harry saw Lucius Malfoy did he suspect something might be amiss.

888

Harry looked from Lucius to Severus the back again, comprehension slowly dawning. Bright green eyes misted over with unshed tears as they made the journey from confusion to horrified realization. As Severus blocked the connection to their Occlumency pathway, it took every ounce of his strength not to begin weeping as well at the appalling sense of loss.

I agree. It was a very evil place to stop. I hope you enjoyed it though. Don't forget to review.

This chapter has been altered slightly since it was first posted.