I just discovered the website HPCompanion. Oh wow, I wish I would have known of this when I read the books over the summer. If you haven't looked into it before I really recommend it, especially if you prefer the books to the movies and would love in depth insight to some of the chapters.

And yes, I know I said I would post every Tuesday, but I felt like I should post this one so I can focus on the snow scene chapter coming up in a few chapters. Hope you enjoy :)

Other A/N at the bottom

Last, I will say this once again, I do not own this fiction, characters or plot and am not making profit from this.

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The sound of cooking drifted into Harry's ears, prompting him to open his tired eyes and wake up. Peeking, he instantly shut them in protest to the strong stream of light shining through the curtains. It took him several attempts of blinking before his eyes stopped aching and adjusted to the brightness. He yawned and pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Taking in his surroundings, the realization dawned on him that he was still in the home of his former professor. It felt completely odd to be in Snape's home, even more so that he had slept there. Despite the sensation of being somewhere unfamiliar, Harry remarkably slept better last night than he had at his own apartment. He still felt as if he needed several more hours, but it was a drastic difference compared to waking up in a zombie state for over the last week.

Harry was opposed to walking out of the room and talking to Severus at the moment. Instead, he chose to read a chapter from one of the books. The night before, he had tossed his bag and books on the floor, so it was but a short reach from his bed to the floor to pick one up. The cold of the room made him not want to extend his reach further, even for one of the more preferred books, so he settled on the book closest about the Nazi era.

The chapter went over the brutal deaths forced upon the Jewish Muggles. Harry did as Snape had promised, and tried to read the book slowly in order to digest it. But he had a hard time reading this particular book. It made his stomach ill. Just the thought of all the countless lives lost was horrific, but to read the details? Even more so, what was there to digest that he did not already know from encountering war himself?

Since the end of the war, it was hard to re-live the horrific details from the past, such as brutal violence. The book was far from helping him feel better. Each time the book mentioned torture, it instantly reminded him of hearing Hermione screaming when Bellatrix had her way. When mass killings were stated, it brought up the factor of how many Wizards were lost, and how killing blood born wizards was essentially the same concept that Hitler had upon the Jewish. "Impure blood." Reading this book was bringing upon inner turmoil in Harry's soul.

Snape must have been doing this for a purpose beyond Harry's reasoning. This was senseless actions among Muggles, and had nothing to do with Auror training. The thought crossed Harry's mind that Snape had never actually given him an answer for the purpose of reading the book. Each time Harry had brought it up, the subject had been discarded.

If possible, maybe he could convince Snape to let him dismiss this one. Since he didn't have better things to do at the moment, Harry got up to seek out the man and ask him about the book. It was also a chance to find out if this ordeal with Kirnap had been sorted with the Ministry yet.

After getting dressed in the clothes Snape had packed for him, Harry opened the door to the hallway and followed the smell, which led to the kitchen. Sure enough, as he figured, food was being prepared. From the smell it was breakfast, bacon and eggs.

He felt the rumble of his stomach remind him that it existed within his body.. Truthfully, eating was a struggle. He usually did not eat because he felt hungry, but instead because he knew that he should. After an attempt to eat just a few bites, he would develop the urge to throw up what he had forced down. The stress caused by the reminder that Derrick was somewhere else, (possibly happy with the person he had left Harry for) made food smell, taste, and look repulsive. There were times he would get his thoughts so worked up that he would vomit whatever he just ate.

Harry took a silent step into the kitchen. Divided by an island counter on the other side of the kitchen, was the first thing that caught him off guard. For starters, it wasn't a house elf that stood there, no, Snape was cooking, and on top of that, he was using his hands, not magic. Speechless, Harry gaped from his place in the doorway. Snape, out of all people, always used magic: to write upon the chalkboard, scare students from across the room, levitate supplies... stir potions... but cooking?

"I see you have finally risen and cared to join the day."

Harry jolted himself upright, aware he had been absentmindedly looking at his former professor, as if he were a magical creature. "Oh um, yeah...I was just admiring your cooking." It was the partial truth.

"I assumed we could use a meal before we leave."

"Leave?"

"Yes, Potter. I did say yesterday that I would be contacting the ministry in order to settle this mess, you have unmistakably led me into again."

Harry felt his cheeks blush. He had the right mind to protest the accusation but it was essentially pointless. The man would never change his biases. "Do I need to come?"

"That would be most wise. In fact, I feel I should forbid you to stay. It does not go unnoticed that you tend you seek out trouble rather than steer from it."

"But, you don't think he can get inside do you? I mean, shouldn't I stay and study or read one of the books?"

"Our trip will not be long. And though my magic performed is strong to withstand simple spells, I still do not see it practical to leave you behind-wandless." Snape began to pull the cooked food from the stove. With his wand, he levitated both silverware and plates from their places. He served both dishes with magic as well. "Would you like coffee or juice with your meal?"

The more time that Harry stayed with Severus, the more the man began to frighten him. Now he was being offered a drink–juice nonetheless. But he was in fact hungry...oddly.

"Um, juice...thanks." He pulled his thoughts from the food and forced himself to remember his original intentions for leaving the guest room. Snape began to pour the juice by hand. "Snape...er sir...I have been reading the book about the Nazi era, and I am wondering...why Nazi's? It's a horrid period in time and I already learned this in school-before Hogwarts. Could I skip this one so I can focus on the others?"

Snape rested his hands upon the island counter while looking Harry in the eye. "Considerably, it would not harm you to refresh yourself upon such atrocities."

"Atrocities between Muggles..." Harry bit his lip.

"Perhaps." His dark eyes bore into the nervous green ones.

"So, it's ok then?"

"To do what exactly?"

"To skip the book."

"Skip the book, what?"

"Skip the book about Nazi's, sir."

"No." Snape picked up his plate. "Eat, Potter. We will leave soon after."

Harry glared daggers at the man but went over and picked up his plate of eggs, bacon, and toast. With his other hand, he took the juice and followed Snape to the small table, placed by a large window that overlooked the back yard.

A thick mist covered the ground hiding the forest of the hills. The mist could easily represent the way Snape acted sometimes. He was clearly visible for all to see, but absolutely impossible to see clearly through to the other side.

As told, Snape and Harry went forth to contact the Ministry. Snape used all last minute charms to protect the home's weaknesses where Kirnap could break through, such as doors and windows. Harry waited patiently in the front room, annoyed with the situation he was forced to be involved with.

He felt like a hostage. Like a child even. He hated the idea of having to be escorted everywhere and not being allowed to stay at Snape's alone. And the fact of the matter, which made it unpleasant, was whom it was with. Had this been anyone else, he may have half enjoyed himself. Harry dreamed of returning home to his apartment and finishing lessons once and for all. The more time he spent around Snape, the more he was reminded as to why the man so easily passed as a Death Eater.

Snape came into the front room and stopped right beside Harry. He held out his arm, which Harry took hold of instantly. Within just seconds, the tender spot of his belly button was tugged upon, the world spun around them. Suddenly they landed precisely on the cement of an alleyway in London. Sound of crowded city life filled their ears-the honking of cars, beeping of heavy machinery, sound of tires upon pavement. They were now very far from the quiet of their typical whereabouts in the forest–where Harry wished to be.

It was as if Snape read his brooding thoughts, for he suddenly spoke, "Do not be too down Potter. We will be stopping in the Auror office today."

His spirits did lift. Though he was still too irritated with Snape to say so.

They walked down a street and came to a booth that Harry remembered clearly from his fifth year. Both men pushed themselves inside despite how small the booth was. Harry pushed himself against the wall as much as he could to avoid being forced against the man. Snape took no notice as he casually used the dial pad on the phone to dial "62442".

Just the brush of their arms touching each other irritated Harry to an extreme extent. So much for odd feelings, he thought. He could have sworn the night before he had felt…

Severus handled checking in for the both of them. As they clipped the pins to themselves, they began to sink underground into the Ministry of Magic.

It wasn't long after that that Snape checked in his wand to the security desk. Since Harry did not have his, he leaned against the wall waiting for Snape to be finished. Once completed, they made their way to the second floor and arrived at the office where Snape had prior submitted an application to have Kirnap investigated. A young attendant who liberally blushed at the sight of the two men entering the office welcomed them. She seated both men and went to tell Williamson they had made it on time.

The young female attendant wore a bright yellow jumper that had bold horizontal black stripes. For pants, she wore plain black slacks. On top her head were a pair of large round sunglasses. Perhaps unknowingly, she gave herself the image of an insect. Neither men could help themselves from the humor of the sight. Snape rolled his eyes once her back was turned, as Harry held back a grin.

It was the only humor the two could share.

Once she came back, the lady–who quickly introduced herself to Harry as Penelope–offered both Harry and Snape a refreshment as the wait would be some time. Both declined, and retreated to reading magazines. Snape chose a Wizarding Politics magazine, as Harry settled for one about Quidditch.

He had barely read a paragraph about the World Cup when he heard, "So Harry, I heard you are training to be an Auror!"

He hated being polite in times like this. His irritation with Snape caused him to feel short tempered with almost anyone. Plus, having girls attempt to throw themselves at him became old, and were about the only conversations he shared with the gender lately. This likely, would be no exception. "Yes, I have one phase left."

"Oh how exciting! I bet you have top scores!" She leaned far over the counter top, exposing her cleavage.

He instantly averted his eyes. "Oh...yeah, well they're...they are good." He wanted to curse himself for confusing the implications for the meaning of "they are good".

She giggled. "I can't imagine you having bad ones. You're so talented! I read so much about you when you beat Krum in the Tri-wizarding Tournament."

"It was all luck really. He was a great player." He tried to hint he was done talking by looking back to the magazine article.

"Yeah but-" he bit his lip out of tension (she misinterpreted this as well, and oddly smiled) "...you are such a great Quidditch player," she breathed.

"Er, thanks." Harry saw Snape smirk out of the corner of his eye. He had the sinking feeling that Snape was grinning because of his suffering.

A piece of paper zoomed through an opened door and onto the desk of the attendant. She frowned, and then said, "Oh shame, his meeting must of finished early." She constructed a pouting face at Harry, who ignored it and abruptly stood up.

"Oh, how unfortunate." Snape half sneered. Harry glared at the man when the girl wasn't looking. As she led them to their meeting, her bright outfit burned their eyes as they followed her through the corridors.

She brought them back into a small office where they were seated once again. Neither spoke for many minutes after she had dismissed herself.

Before she had left, Harry was forced to decline the offer of a meeting with her. Didn't she read the Prophet anyways? Harry tried to avoid the conversation of what had just happened and knew it was only a matter of time before Snape brought it up.

"You should of set up a tea date."

"Shut it."

Snape grinned. Oh he so enjoyed himself.

Harry roughly crossed his arms. How he did not feel he could survive any longer with this man.

"Of course... it would need to be organic tea."

"How come?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"Simply because bumblebees and pesticides don't mix." The man showed his teeth in a wide smile, admiring his own humor.

Before Harry could retort a reply, the door opened behind them and Williamson came in. He still wore the red robes Harry remembered him in from the night of the Battle of the Department of Mystery's. His hair was still held up in a long ponytail, though now it shown signs of age from where it began to gray. Harry immediately felt the painful memories of that night –watching his godfather fall through the veil...destroying Dumbledoor's office...he stopped looking at the man and instead focused on thinking of something positive.

"Hello Harry." He smiled kindly down at the back of young man's head, as he shut the door behind him. "Ah, good to see you Severus." He walked in front of Snape and shook hands with him before also shaking Harry's hand. Finally, Williamson took his seat on the other side of the desk. With his wand, he levitated a file from a shelf of few other files, indicating it had recently been set there for their meeting. It flowed through the air until it came to a rest on the desk, where Williamson opened it.

"So Severus, you filed a complaint prompting an investigation regarding Kirnap Crowell. Is this correct?"

"Yes."

"Alright..." His eyes squinted as he tried to read the small text. "Oh, yes." He paused reading the top paper, and began to sort through the file. Amongst the tall stack of several pages, he finally found what he had been searching for. Once again his eyes narrowed in fixed concentration. "Hm. Interesting. It says here...he was shortly released from Azkaban for revelation that...he was an unregistered animagus."

"Animagus?" Harry asked.

"Yes. An animagus, it says."

"What form is his animagus?" The youngest of the men inquired.

"A wolf, it would appear. Here is a photograph..." Williamson slid the photo across the desk towards them. Snape, who took it right away, gazed into the photograph with distinct interest.

The wolf in the image appeared very big in comparison to the small cell it was held in. Its fur was just the same as Kirnap's hair – light gray. The carnivore in the image was confined in a cell that appeared to be in Azkaban likely where they forced him to reveal himself to document his status. The large beast paced in the cell, glaring his angry eyes at whomever had taken the photograph. He bared his teeth in the last moment.

Snape handed the photo to Harry who observed it for a brief moment before giving it back to Williamson. Harry noticed that Snape had not seemed surprised about discovering Kirnap was an animagus. Had he known all along?

"Alright, tell me now Severus. Why do you wish to file a complaint?"

He spoke as if he had practiced for this moment, for he was completely confident with his answer. "It is well known that Kirnap Crowell has the potential to be a dangerous Wizard with intentions of using explicit Dark Magic. As you can see, he has already tried to deceive the ministry before. It is with my utmost belief that he will not hesitate to do it again."

"Have you had recent contact with him?"

"Unfortunately."

"Have you, Harry?"

"No but-."

"Potter here is completing his Phase III training and has been instructed lessons from me. I simply requested him to come along."

"Ah, ok then. Harry this should be rather interesting to you then. Exactly what you desire to do, eh?" He winked at the youngest man who forced a weak smile. "Well then Severus, please tell me more about your contact recently. Pardon me, would either of you like a cup of tea?"

They both responded by politely denying his offer.

"Do excuse me for just a moment if you don't mind. I would like to take a moment longer documenting this and feel my throat is a bit parched today." He left the room, leaving the two men alone once again.

"Why did you do that?" Harry asked quietly.

"Do what exactly?"

"You lied!" He hissed.

Snape sighed. "Potter, you must realize the attention this would bring if your name were involved."

"Er, maybe... I don't think people would care that much."

"You are, 'The Boy-Who-Lived', the one who conquered Voldemort. They would panic feeling their safety were threatened once more, seeming that each time your name has been involved has been for reasons regarding The Dark Lord. The last thing we need is attention surrounding my home and giving away either our locations by being followed by reporters."

The door suddenly opened, and Williamson came in balancing the hot liquid in his mug. "Ah yes, this will do the trick." He sat at his desk once again and carefully sipped the tea before speaking. "Now, as we were discussing. Tell me all the details. Once we are finished I will stamp the form and send it off to the head of the department. Their final word will take less than a day to decide." He set down the mug and reached for a quill, ink and parchment.

Snape began to tell the story of Kirnap from the beginning. He started with how Kirnap and himself confided in each other during their years at Hogwarts, and it was then he learned of the plans Kirnap had, even back then. He did not hold back telling Williamson how Kirnap wrote several letters discussing his plans, which at the time Snape did nothing, believing that Kirnap was in the right. Of those plans, he told Snape that his location would always remain hidden–in the forests. It was now obvious to Harry, as to why Snape had not spoke earlier. He knew all along that Kirnap was a wolf animagus.

Snape finished with informing Williamson how Kirnap had shown to his home the day prior, demanding to know his secret was well hidden. "Kirnap wishes to build himself an army. His plans are amateur. I must admit he had never thought much through to the end. He is an opportunist though, and tends to find luck in all directions he turns."

"So you feel that his panic recently is in concern to building the army?"

"I feel highly, that his plans are in action, and he wishes to stop those who may stand in his way."

Williamson took several notes on a sheet of paper using a quill. "Tell me Severus, has he spoke of what type of army he plans to use? Inferi perhaps?"

"No. Not Inferi. His magic is not so strong. This is what puzzles me for he is not a good Wizard in the sense of spells. He can be cunning, manipulative, and at times remarkably intelligent." His finger rested under his lip.

"How then, could he pose a threat?"

"His charisma suits him well. He is outstanding at convincing those around him to assist in his efforts. He will use his magic to assist those around him, and sometimes I wonder if he will be able to team with those who are not Wizards themselves."

"You mean Muggles then, right?"

"I do not know. Perhaps Muggles, though I do not presume them being much assistance unless he had the power to control them. Perhaps he has found beasts in the forests, which is why he has lay dormant there for many years."

Williamson wrote what Severus said and then set his quill down and let out a sigh. "I trust your word Severus. I really do. Even–well I will not speak of such times–I felt off about the accusations made even back then." With his finger he pointed to the notes he made. "I think you are very right, and it would serve the Aurors to look into this. I'm afraid though, without evidence they will not go forth. You spoke of letters. Where are they?"

"I'm afraid they have been lost over time."

Williamson began to put papers back in the file. "I was afraid you would say that. Well, we will try our best."

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JM2010: Yes it is very odd for Harry to leave his wand! I debated on this for several moments for a wizard's wand is essentially a piece of them (I think a day for Harry without a wand would be equivalent to us "Muggles" going without electronic devices for a month). I do though, have a few reasons as to why he did this but I will not address them now since they will come about in the next few chapters. Also, heartbreak can make us do incredibly foolish things that when we look back on it (most of us) we think 'ah I cant believe I did that because of him/her'. This is going to be that foolish thing for Harry. He cast aside a piece of his identity in punishment to himself for what he saw as harming Derrick.

Aspohdel21: Nope, you didn't miss anything big. You will find that Severus isn't giving Harry all the information. I'm glad you are liking the slow progress. I've been worried that the story is progressing too slow but I feel that the extra time will be appreciated in the end. Thanks for reading and reviewing again :)

Angel-Miyu: Yeah he is really jumpy. I figured once he came to terms he made a dumb decision about leaving his wand behind, he would then feel on edge. I can't wait for you to read further chapters, his confusion with Derrick seems to go down but then it will peak again at one point.