Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Sorry for the very late update. T_T Been busy, lol. Anyway, I want to take a moment to address a few reviews that brought up about the first potions class in the book not being a "misunderstanding". It wasn't. Harry crooning his eyebrow at Snape was complete disrespect, so naturally Snape took offense. In my first author's note, I mentioned that it was movie! Snape and Harry that had the misunderstanding, not the book versions. So this is following the movie. Sorry for any confusion!

Also about the following of which universe, I decided that I would follow the movies only until Half-Blood Prince. I have not read the first six books in the longest time as I do not have my books with me at my new residence, but back at my old place in Chicago, and am not able to get them for a while. So I know the movies better at the moment, as I have watched them multiple times recently. But I know book! Deathly Hallows extremely well, so I will definitely be following that one. As well as HBP. I also wanted to mention that I will actually probably be intertwining the two; there are some scenes that would make it easier for me to write that happened in the movies, and some in the books that would be easier. But rest assured, this will mainly stick to the canon.

With that, please enjoy this chapter, even though it's short. Next chapter will be much longer, as it's Snape and Harry's reconciliation. : ) Which I will be writing today too, to compensate for lack of updates. XD

Chapter Four:

"Suspicions"

Practicing for Quidditch had gone a lot smoother than Harry had expected. Wood seemed most impressed with his abilities, and by the end of the lesson had to take a whole ten minutes to get his breathing under control he was so excited about the upcoming match against Slytherin.

"Absolutely brilliant," He told Harry, looking completely ecstatic. "You are absolutely brilliant, Potter." The small boy blushed in response. He had never gotten much praise, not living with the Dursleys, so the fact someone seemed genuinely proud of his successes made Harry just want to swell up with pride. "Slytherin is going down!"

The match was a good week and a half away, and Harry decided not to remind Wood that he still had a lot of training and practicing to do before he could even hope to have a chance in the game. Nevertheless, he was somewhat confident he could do this; his father had, after all. And he would try and honor his dad's memory by giving it his best.

While most of the school was pretty excited about the upcoming match, a few were set more upon the Halloween feast, which was tomorrow night. To be honest, Harry was not looking forward to it. He'd learned from Hagrid, when he'd been down to see him last Thursday for tea, that it had been the night of October 31st, Halloween night, that Voldemort had entered Godric's Hollow and killed his parents.

"10 years ago on Halloween," Hagrid had sniffed, dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief. "Lily an' James dead... still can' believe it. An' you, just a baby, with yer scar and no parents... awful. Just awful, Harry. I was the one who pulled yeh from the rubble, yeh know."

Harry's stomach had churned, and he had quickly excused himself, not wanting to hear any more. So when the day of the feast arrived, Ron - as Hermione was nowhere to be found since Charms class this morning when Ron had upset her - could tell that something was bothering him. Harry had barely slept the night before, plagued with dreams of green light and a woman screaming and a high, cold laugh.

When it became time for dinner and everyone began to head down to the feast, Hermione was still not around, and when Harry asked Ron about it, the red-head simply shrugged it off. "Who knows where she is... good riddance, I say. But are you all right, Harry?" He frowned as they made their way to the Great Hall."You're really pale..."

Harry stared at the ground, unable to look him in the eyes. "He... he killed them tonight... ten years ago... Hagrid told me..." He found his voice cracking slightly.

Ron didn't know what to say, so he settled for giving Harry a sympathetic look. This prompted Harry to go on.

"It's just... I'm alive... and they're not. Dad died to protect both of us... Mum died because she protected me... it's kinda weird, though... last night, when I was lying in bed, and I strained my memory... I thought I could remember the way Mum held me... how strong her arms were when he was laughing at her, and..."

He stopped. He had just spotted Snape a little way's from them, who appeared to be watching them closely. It suddenly occurred to Harry that Snape had been listening, because as soon as he caught the man's eye, Snape seemed to jerk, almost as if he were trying to refocus his attention, glared at Harry, and without a backward glance, swept into the Great Hall. Harry watched him go, perplexed on why the man's expression had been so somber.

He knew my Mum, Harry remembered. He must have been friendly with her... but then why does he hate me so much?

To say that Halloween was not a day Severus Snape was exactly fond of would be an understatement. The students were even more lively than normal, annoying him to no end. As he sat at the staff table, he knew by the slight headache growing that he would need to take some potions before bed tonight.

As they ate, the other professors were discussing things that Severus cared to take no part in, but then McGonagall mentioned the one thing that had he had cared not to discuss, the one thing that had him so on edge today as it was.

"Ten years ago today, the Potters were killed. Only twenty-one years old... they were only five years out of Hogwarts when You-Know-Who attacked them..."

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Lily and James Potter were young, much too young, to have met such an unfortunate end. And Harry would have met that same end, too young to have even lived at all, had Lily not sacrificed herself..."

Hagrid dabbed at his eyes. "Yes, tis all very sad," He agreed. "Tol' Harry about it... tha' it was tonight... shoul'nt have mentioned it...poor boy, prob'ly thinkin' 'bout it..."

Snape's black eyes fell over the Gryffindor table as he took a good look at Harry. The child was barely eating, poking at his food whilst his classmates dug in and laughed amongst themselves, happily chatting away. The boy looked tired and distant, and Snape knew that without a doubt, Harry had spent most of the last night crying, wishing for the parents he did not have. A wave of sympathy for the small child washed over him, but Severus did not let it linger. He would not feel sorry for the boy.

Gruffly, Snape blocked out the rest of the conversation about the Potter's, putting on a cool mask of indifference should any one try and chance a glimpse of his expression. As he looked around the table, however, Snape saw that Quirrel was not present. How suspicious...

Just then, the double doors were pushed open violently, and - speak of the devil, Snape sneered - Quirrel came sprinting into the hall, looking terrified. "TROLL! In the dungeon! Troll in the dungeon!"

Oh, for Merlin's sake, Snape rolled his eyes at the man's dramatics. Dumbledore, however, stood up.

Every head seemed to find the teacher, who took a breath and squeaked, "Thought you ought to know..." and promptly collapsed. Almost at once, all hell broke loose. The students started screaming, and Severus noticed that Harry, while looking alarmed, had his hand on his scar again.

"SIIIIIILENCE!" Dumbledore called, and everyone stopped moving, all falling quiet. "Everyone will please, not panic! Now, Prefects will lead their house back to their dormitories. Teachers will follow me to the dungeons."

Students and teachers alike began to obey at once, and Severus, getting an idea, retreated, not to the dungeons, but through the door behind him, that led to the third floor. He had a bad quickly and fluidly, his head swam with questions. What was Quirrel planning? Obviously this was a ruse, to get everyone away, but for what? He came to a stop, eyes widening as the answer came to him.

The stone. Quirrel was planning to steal it! He figured no one could stop him, with all the commotion, that he could get his hands on it. Like hell that was going to happen. A few minutes later, Snape reached the door that concealed the three-headed dog Fluffy, and wrenched it open, not the least bit surprised when he found Quirrel standing in the room.

Quirrel blanched, placing his arms behind his back and giving a twitchy smile. "O-oh, S-Severus, I..."

"Well, Quirrel," Snape said silkily, ignoring the man's false attempt at innocence, "That was a clever idea, planting that ruse, pretending to collapse so that you might look innocent and make your way up here without detection. I have to commend you. You can fool the other teachers, you can fool the Headmaster. However, you'll find that you can't fool... me."

Quirrel looked shocked, his fingers fumbling. "S-S-Severus! N-no idea what y-y-you're t-talking about!"

Snape took out his wand, eyes narrowed, and pointed it at him. "Lies, Quirrel. I can see through them clearly. You planned the troll, didn't you? Tell me, is there even a troll in the castle? Or was that a lie as well?"

The man swallowed thickly, looking nervous. "S-Severus, what is the m-meaning of t-this? Of c-course there's a t-troll in the c-castle!"

"Don't play stupid," Snape snapped, losing his patience. "I know you planned this. You're after the stone!"

And then it happened so fast Severus could barely blink; Suddenly, his leg was caught in the jaws of one of the three heads, and it was gnawing and tearing on his flesh. Giving a pained yell, Severus blasted the three-headed dog off of him with a strong disarming spell, not caring as the dog fell backward against the wall, falling unconscious. "Bloody menace," He cursed, and cast a quick spell to control the blood flow slightly until he could get a blood replenishing potion. He turned back to Quirrel, seething.

"You are going to take me to that troll at once."

Quirrel nodded, obeying at once. They walked briskly in silence towards the dungeons, and as they rounded the second to last hallway, they saw Minerva quickly approaching them.

"Oh, Severus," She panted, looking relieved. "I just heard loud movement from inside the girl's washroom as well as the sound of screaming. I think there may be a student trapped inside!"

Wasting no time, the three professors hurried into the girl's washroom, skidding to a halt when they saw Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley standing over the unconscious body of the troll.

Minerva gasped, placing a hand over her heart. "Oh my goodness... explain yourselves, both of you!" She demanded of them.

Both boys opened their mouths to reply, but the one who spoke was Hermione Granger.

"It's my fault, Professor McGonagall."

Minerva looked at her student, sputtering. "M-Miss Granger?"

The girl bowed her head. "I went looking for the troll. I'd read about them and thought I could handle it. But I was wrong... if Harry and Ron hadn't come and found me.. I'd probably be dead."

Snape felt eyes on him, then, and he turned his head to look into the green orbs of Harry Potter, who was looking at him curiously. Or more specifically, the wound he'd received from Fluffy. He pulled his robs over his wounded, bloody leg, covering it as he returned the boy's gaze. He did not like the way the child was looking at him, with those untrusting eyes, and with annoyance, Snape looked away, his attention back on Minerva, who was still chastising her pupil.

"... Was an extremely foolish thing to do, Miss Granger. Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your serious lack of judgment." She looked back at the boys. "And as for you two gentlemen, well I hope you realize how fortunate you are. Not many First year students could take on a fully grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale. Five points will be awarded to each of you."

They grinned. Minerva looked simply exasperated as she shook her head at Snape. "For sheer dumb luck," She explained, and exited the washroom. Snape turned to leave as well, and nearly bumped into Quirrel, who motioned for him to go first. Giving one quick glance at Harry, and deciding that he was safe at the moment with his friends present, left as well.

But as he stalked away, he could not shake his feelings from the look Harry had given him, that look of pure distrust and suspicion. He knew the boy suspected he might be behind something, and he wished, although he would never admit it to himself, that Harry would realize that it was Quirrel that he needed to be fearful of.