Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Chapter 20: Memories

Harry and Severus were sitting at the table eating breakfast when an Owl flew in. It went over to Harry and landed next to his plate, holding out its leg with a note attached. Harry took it off and the Owl turned and flew away, not waiting for any kind of payment. Harry looked at Snape in confusion. Severus said nothing. Harry looked back at the letter. It just had his name on the front, nothing else. He turned it over and saw the Hogwarts seal on it. He broke the seal and pulled out another envelope with a small note attached to it. The note read:

H.

This was sent to me for you.

D.

Harry opened the letter feeling a little curious. He pulled it out and unfolded it. It read:

Harry

I am not positive if I am correct in my conclusion, but I feel that there is more between you and Professor Snape. If I am correct, and from the slip you had, I can only assume that Professor Snape is your Uncle. I'm not sure how that is possible and am very confused by this. I would appreciate it if you could explain it to me some time. Don't worry; I'm not going to tell anyone. They would never believe me anyway. I really hope you will be able to explain this to me. Hope you are well. Professor Snape seemed pretty angry when you left. Although, now I begin to wonder if it was an act on his part. See you at school.

Hermione

Harry grinned, glancing at Snape. If only she knew that it was an act. He looked back at the letter quickly before Snape said anything. He folded it up and put it down, going back to his meal.

"What could they possibly have to say? You just left them yesterday." Severus said, setting down his fork and picking up his cup of tea.

"To make sure I'm all right, actually. They seem to think you were angry with me for some reason." Harry said, trying not to smile.

"Where would they ever get that idea from?" Severus said sarcastically, swirling his tea before taking a drink.

"I don't know, sir." Harry said with a grin.

Severus set his cup down and got up to leave. Harry decided he better tell him what Hermione wrote.

" Professor." Harry said reluctantly.

Severus turned and looked at Harry without saying anything. It didn't help Harry feel any less nervous. If anything, he was more nervous now. He didn't want Snape to get mad at him for letting someone find out about him being his Uncle.

"Hermione, sir. She wrote the letter." Harry said softly.

"I would care for what reason, Potter?" Severus said, letting the annoyance show in his voice.

"She knows you are my Uncle, sir. I didn't tell her. She figured it out on her own." Harry said quickly, looking up at Snape.

Harry could actually see Snape getting angry. His eyes got darker and his mouth was in a tight line. Harry shrank back in his chair as Snape walked closer to him. Snape came to a stop next to Harry's chair and loomed menacingly over him.

"You will fix this, Potter. I don't care what you have to tell her. No one is to know. Not even your little fan club." Severus said deadly quiet.

"Yes, sir." Harry said quickly, just wanting to get away from an angry Snape.

Severus turned and swept angrily from the room. Harry didn't relax until he heard the study door close. That didn't go as well as he had hoped. Deciding to get a letter written to reply to Hermione, Harry got up and went up to his room. It would take a lot of thought to come up with something that Hermione would believe.

After lunch Harry found himself once again in the dungeons. He had sent the letter to Hermione, hoping that she believed him, and now Snape had him practicing wandless shields. After Harry got the hang of them and could do all of them, Snape had him standing in the middle of the room, while Snape paced around throwing random curses at various times. Harry had to figure out which shield would block the curse within the few seconds before it got to him. It wasn't easy, especially with Snape as his opponent. He knew more curses then Harry had ever heard of, and a few Harry was sure were dark. Luckily, everytime Harry was hit Snape would do the counter-curse immediately. Harry fell to the ground after being hit again. Snape lifted it before Harry even hit the ground. Harry stayed down, glaring up at Snape.

"Your not even trying, Potter." Severus snapped angrily.

"I am trying, sir. How am I supposed to block when I don't even know what the curse is coming at me." Harry snapped back, just as angry.

"Do you think the Dark Lord or his Death Eaters are going to use only curses you know? They are not going to play fair. You have to be ready for anything they may throw at you. You had these down before we started. You have to learn how to do them under attack. Think faster. If you are this slow against the Dark Lord we'll be done with this war within seconds. Get up. Try again." Severus said softly, glaring at Harry.

Harry got up slowly, feeling sore from hitting the floor so many times, and glared at Snape. Without giving Harry time to prepare, Severus threw another curse at him. Harry threw up a random block hoping it worked. The spell hit his shield and bounced off to hit the wall at his right. Before Harry had time to feel proud of himself, there was another curse coming at him. As it hit his shield broke and he fell to the ground, sliding back a ways from the impact.

"Get up, Potter." Severus snapped.

"Please, sir. Can we stop? I'm tired and sore. We've been at it for a few hours now." Harry said, too tired to care he was begging Snape.

"They're not going to care if you are tired. They are going to take advantage of the fact. You will have to learn to keep going no matter how exhausted you are." Severus said, watching Harry through narrowed eyes.

"I know, sir. I will learn to. It is only my first day. I'm too tired. I'm not even sure if I can stand on my own again let alone block you." Harry said tiredly.

"You are nothing like Lily. She was the one who kept me going at it long after we were both exhausted. I should of never expected you to be strong like her. After all, your father is James." Severus growled, turning towards the door.

"Professor, can I have my wand back?" Harry said, getting up as fast as he could.

"You want it, you can get it yourself." Severus said without stopping.

Glaring at Snape's back, Harry summoned his wand. Once he had it, he followed Snape back upstairs as fast as his aching body would allow. Once they were back in the study, Harry headed out towards the stairs. He was tired and just wanted to go sleep. Severus watched him leave with a small smile on his lips. He was impressed. Harry was doing better then he had thought he would. Not as good as Lily had been, but good considering that he had James for a father. Forcing himself not to think of such things, Severus went over to his desk. He still had to finish his lesson plans for the new school year, plus the one for Harry.

Harry woke up a little before dinner, feeling much better. He got up and freshened up before heading downstairs. Snape wasn't in the Dining Room when he entered so he sat down and waited. A few minutes later Snape came in and sat down. Tina brought the food in as soon as they were both seated. They ate in silence. Snape seemed to be ignoring Harry, and Harry didn't know what to say to break the silence. As they were finishing their meal, Harry got up the nerve to ask something that had been bothering him since Snape first mentioned it.

"Professor, could you tell me about my Mum? No one ever talks about her and I would like to know more about her." Harry said quietly, looking at his empty plate.

Severus went completely still, not expecting to hear that request. He dropped his fork on to his plate with a clatter and stood up forcefully, knocking his chair over. Harry jumped and looked up in surprise. Tina came in to the room quickly, worried about what was happening. She stood off to the side watching with wide eyes.

"Get out, Potter." Severus said dangerously softly, his lips barely moving.

Harry stood up and glared at Snape.

"Why should I? Why can't I ask about my Mum? I have a right to know what was between you two." Harry said heatedly, not willing to back down yet but a little afraid.

"What was or wasn't between me and Lily is no one's concern accept ours. Get out." Severus said coldly, making a slight movement as if to step closer.

Harry glared at Snape. Tina made a slight noise to draw Harry's attention. Harry looked at her and she nodded for him to leave. Harry looked defiantly between Snape and Tina before, with another glare at Snape, he turned and stormed out of the room. Severus stood there, clenching and unclenching his hands, trying to calm down. Tina came over and started cleaning up the table. Severus sat down in his chair and put his head in his hands. Tina finished cleaning up and went over to him. She laid a hand on his arm in support.

"Why did he have to bring Lily up? Why now?" Severus whispered, Tina barely hearing him.

"Master Potter doesn't mean to hurt Master Snape. Master Potter is just wondering. Master Potter has a right to know about Master Snape's friend." Tina said kindly.

"I don't know if I can do it, Tina. How can I talk about Lily with Potter? How can I share the only happy memories I have?" Severus said, lifting his head and looking at Tina.

"Master Potter is not like Master James. Master Potter will not hurt Master Snape. Master Potter needs to know." Tina said, looking Severus in the eyes.

"I know, but I don't know if I can talk about it." Severus said softly.

"Then don't, Master Snape. Show Master Potter." Tina said, then turned and left the room.

Severus watched Tina leave. It took him a few minutes to figure out what she meant. As it hit him, he smiled sadly to himself. It had been years since he had took out the album. After Lily had married James he had hidden it away. Getting up, he headed out of the room and into the study. Going to the door leading down to the dungeons, he quickly made his way down. He headed straight back to the last room. A room he never thought he'd enter again. Taking a couple of calming breathes; he slowly pushed the door open. It was dark, the only light coming from the hallway. He took a couple of steps in and stopped. It smelled musky and moldy, and the floor was covered in a thick layer of dirt. There were no furnishings, there never had been any. He hadn't been in here since the summer after his sixth year. It was one of his father's favorite punishments. Leaving Severus locked in this room for days with nothing except a glass of water. It would refill whenever it was empty, but it would never relieve his hunger pains. Pushing those thoughts away, Severus went over to the far right, which happened to be darkest spot in the room. Bending down, he wiped away some of the dirt off of the floor nearest the wall. Then, laying his hand so that it was barely touching the floor, he whispered a single word. There was a dim glow and then a small section of the floor disappeared. Reaching carefully into the hole, he slowly pulled out a small, red album. Carefully wiping the dirt from it, he opened it slowly. He looked sadly at the face of the young, red haired girl smile out at him. Severus ran his finger slowly down the picture, a single tear running down his face. Leaning back against the wall, he closed the album, pulling it close to his chest, willing the tears away that just kept coming. Pulling his knees up to his chest, he leaned his head on them and allowed himself to cry for the first time in years. He didn't know how long he stayed down there, allowing memories of happier times to run through his head. Finally, he wiped his face on his sleeve of his robe, pulling himself together. Getting up slowly, he headed back upstairs with the album clenched in his hand. It was time to talk to Harry, as hard as that was going to be.

Tina watched Severus from a dark corner. She had tears running down her face, but they were tears of sadness and joy. Smiling through her tears, she popped out of the room, happy that Severus was finally going to talk about his only true friend after so many years of holding everything in.

Xoxoxo

I'm really sorry this took so long to update. I had a hard time trying to get everything set up just right for the next chapter. On a happier note, I have the next chapter completed! Yay for me!

Thanx for all the reviews. I really do appreciate them. I have been trying to make the chapters better for you. I hope it is working.

I'm sorry if anyone seems OOC. It was unavoidable to get what I wanted out of the chapter.

I'll have the next chapter up much quicker. Seeing how it is already completed. It is a darker chapter. Nothing graphic though, just the undertone of it. I need to know if I should up the rating or not. Don't want to get into trouble or anything. Let me know what you think.

I am working on another chapter, too. Hopefully it will go as quickly as the last one did.

Thanx again for the reviews!

Rhi