A/N: Hi everybody! I'm so sorry that I kind of disappeared from here for a while. Summer school started so I've become lazy again.

Thank you to everybody who reviewed… it really means a lot to me.

Shadowsfriend- you make a very good point… good observation. I'll fix that this chapter. Please let me know if I have any other conflicting things in my story, I don't actually proofread these, so thx.

Now I know that Snape's behavior will be kind of weird in this chapter, but hopefully it will be explained. I am convinced that his hard exterior is mostly a façade and he's really a nice guy.

Now onto the story…

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Snape watched, shocked, as the boy screamed in pain. Had the potion worn off already? Then he realized that the Dark Mark on his forearm was exposed. Potter's scar must have touched it when he fell, causing the pain. He knelt beside the gasping boy.

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What was happening? Had the touching of his Dark Mark and Potter's scar actually caused that much pain for the boy? A million questions raced through Snape's mind as he watched the child on the ground slowly quieting as the pain decreased.

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'What the hell? Where had that pain come from?' Harry thought, as he became conscience again of the world around him, finally able to think through the pain. He opened his eyes to see the Professor kneeling by him; an expression of curiosity and… something Harry couldn't quite place was crossing his face.

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"Potter?" Snape began cautiously, unsure of what the boy's reaction would be.

"Yes, Sir?" The boy answered almost too quietly to be heard.

As odd as it felt to ask this, he needed to know. "Are you alright?" Snape forced himself to inquire.

Potter looked surprised at the question, but after only a slight pause he nodded, "Yes, Sir. I think so."

"Your 'thinking so' didn't turn out too well last time." Snape said annoyed. The boy said nothing. Then another thought occurred to the Potions master. "I was under the impression that you were told to stay within the castle walls, were you not?" He questioned. Again there was no response. After a minute of silence and realizing that the boy had no plans of speaking in the near future, Snape stood and made to leave. "Alright then, I will simply go and inform the Headmaster of this and I am sure that he will—"

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As he listened to Snape talking Harry felt a sudden feeling of dread. He had forgotten about that rule; he'd been too upset and worried to think clearly. What would Dumbledore do? He'd made it very clear that Harry was, under no condition, allowed to leave the castle. Of course he hadn't told Harry why, but he had been adamant about it.

"No!" Harry suddenly said to both of their surprise.

"Excuse me, Potter?" Snape said menacingly.

Damn, why hadn't he thought of that before now? "Um, Sir," he began, "Please don't tell him," he said desperately, "I don't want him to think that I'm not listening to him—"

"Isn't that precisely what you were doing, Mr. Potter?" Snape said

"Well, yes. But…" Harry couldn't think of any way of convincing this man not to tell Dumbledore. He sighed in resignation.

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Odd how desperately the boy didn't want Albus to hear of this. He decided to let it go for now.

He tried the same question as before, "Do you think you can walk?" The boy paused, as if trying to find the answer himself, and then slowly nodded. "Alright, come with me." He waited for Potter to stand and steady himself before turning to leave, slowing his pace from his usual near-jog.

As they neared the steps of the castle Snape glanced back at his follower and noticed a thoughtful expression on his face. After a few more steps the boy spoke up. "Sir, what was that potion?"

Snape thought back to the pain-stalling potion he'd given the boy. "It is called the Dolormora Potion. It is used to suspend pain." He answered, a little pleased to know that Potter was actually thinking for once.

"Oh. But I thought that there was no prevention for the Crutacious curse." He asked sounding confused.

Snape sighed. "Pay attention, Potter. It does not prevent the curse, it merely suspends the pain in a way." He looked back and saw that he still looked confused and nearly sighed again. "Essentially what it does is temporarily disables the nerves in one's body that feel pain. For example if somebody were to break their arm they would be in immense pain, and if they were to take the potion they wouldn't feel the pain for the duration of its effect. However once the potion wears off, the pain will return full-force." He explained. The one thing Snape had always been was a scholar, first and foremost. Though only Albus knew it, he loved to impart his knowledge into others, which was one of the reasons he had accepted the teaching job.

He heard the footsteps behind him cease and he followed suit, turning around. They were already inside the castle and nearing the Potions classroom. "Wait, so the pain is going to come back?" Potter asked alarmed.

"Yes." Snape stated simply. Potter looked frightened so he decided to continue. "Though not as strong as before. The degree of pain will be the same as it would have been at that time had you not taken the potion," he tried to think of a simpler way of stating it, "It is as if you merely skipped the pain you would have felt during that time."

Potter still looked a little scared but nodded. "Sir, what is going on? Why is this happening to me?" His fright bled into his voice.

Snape paused. "Come with me." He said as he turned. He walked into his classroom and noticed that the Headmaster was standing there. "Albus," he greeted him.

"Ah, Severus. There you are. Mr. Potter, this is a surprise." He said as the boy walked into the room.

"Hello Sir," he said quietly.

"There has been a new development," Snape answered the question Albus had asked with his gaze. Snape walked to his office and opened the door, waiting for Albus to enter.

"Stay here Harry," he said and walked into the stonewalled office.

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As the door closed on the two men, Harry collapsed into the chair next to him, exhausted from the day's events. He still didn't have any answers, though it seemed as though Snape had been close to telling him.

He was so tired. He hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in… well he couldn't remember when the last time was. Between nightmares about Voldemort, Sirius's death, and now this pain sleep hadn't been very restful.

Harry started as the door opened slightly and he could see Dumbledore standing with his hand on the door handle through the crack. He glanced at his watch and realized that nearly ten minutes had gone by. "Do as you must, Severus." The Headmaster then walked into the classroom and sat at Snape's desk, looking at Harry. He held his gaze for a moment, and then began to speak. "Professor Snape has informed me of your recent happenings. I'm afraid that I am not going to be here in the upcoming days as there is a matter that I need to attend to outside of the school. While I am gone Professor Snape is in charge of the school and of you."

Harry was about to protest to that before he moved on.

"During this time I expect for you to mind him as you would me and to speak with him about your nightmares and Harry," his voice became more friendly, "Please, do try to get along. As of ten minutes from now, you two will be the only living people remaining in the castle and I do not want to come back to find that you have ripped each others' heads off. Promise me you will try?" Dumbledore asked and Harry nodded, knowing he didn't have any other option.

"Alright, Sir. I'll try."

Dumbledore beamed and stood. "Good. In case of an emergency, Professor Snape does have ways of contacting me, but only in an extreme emergency." Snape's office door walked out and he stalked out, looking sour.

"Good afternoon, Albus." He nodded at the Headmaster.

He nodded back. "Severus, Harry." And with that he left, leaving Snape and Harry alone. Harry wondered about Dumbledore's last words in the office; what must Snape do? He hoped he would find out.

Snape sat down at his desk and looked lost in thought and Harry was unsure of what to do. A thought occurred to him and he decided to risk asking. "If the potion suspends pain, then why could I feel the pain when my scar… and your arm…" he trailed off, not looking at the professor.

After a few minutes of silence Harry gave up and stood and started for the door. "I don't know." Snape said flatly. Well that response was expected to say the least.

"Excuse me Sir?" Harry asked, unsure if he had misheard him.

Snape looked up and met Harry's eye with an almost blank expression, but Harry thought that his eyes looked… defeated? "I said I do not know, Mr. Potter," he said with a tint of malice, then his tone turned flat again, "It shouldn't have happened." Well wasn't that great? Harry thought sarcastically, not even Snape could figure out what was wrong with him. "How would you rate the pain form your earlier nightmare?" Snape asked suddenly.

Harry thought, "Maybe a five or six." It was hard to put the pain on a points scale.

Snape nodded, looked at some papers on his desk, and said, "I will see you tomorrow Potter," making it clear that he was dismissed.

"Sir?" Harry questioned, unsure of what tomorrow was. Snape looked up and held his gaze again for a moment. Suddenly realization dawned on him. "Oh. You mean that I will have another nightmare tonight." He said. Snape nodded matter-of-factly. "But Sir, isn't there any way to stop it?" He asked a little desperate. How could he keep going to bed, knowing he would face nights like this over and over again?

Snape sighed and Harry noticed that he looked unnaturally tired. "As of yet there is no way to cure it." He said.

Harry was growing more upset as time went by. "There has to be something I can do! I can't just- how can I just-" His voice dropped to a whisper as he dropped his eyes to the table in front of him, "It's not fair."

"Unfortunately, Mr. Potter, the only thing that might prevent it is a dreamless sleep potion…" He noticed the boy's hopeful face and almost began to feel sorry for him before stopping that feeling. "And the potion is highly addictive and if used too often your dependence on it will not allow you to sleep without it." Noticing the still hopeful face he added, "And we cannot do that."

Harry's face fell. "Well, tonight isn't 'often,' it's only one night." He said quietly. He didn't think he could make it through another nightmare. Why did his life have to be like this? What did he ever do to anyone?

Snape sighed once again. "Unfortunately you will need the potion more at a later date." Harry knew what he was saying, the pain would get worse and if he used it now, he wouldn't be able to use it then.

Harry again sat in the chair by Snape's desk. "When do you think I'll feel the full effects of the curse?" He asked quietly.

"It is impossible to tell. Hopefully you never will, but at the rate the pain is escalating, that isn't very likely. I'd hope for a few days at most." His tone reminded Harry of the doctors on shows he used to hear his aunt watching when they told their patients that they only had a short time left to live. A few days? In only a few days he would be feeling the entire Crutacious curse nightly?

"Alright. Good night, Sir." Harry said resolutely.

"Come see me in the morning." The demand wasn't as harsh as Snape's demands normally were. Harry nodded and left.

He was scared. His life was so messed up; everything bad always seemed to happen to him. At least Snape wasn't being so vicious towards him, which he supposed was good, except perhaps he might be being nicer out of pity for what he knew would come. Considering this was probably the case, Snape's lack of hostility worried Harry even more.

As he lay down in his bed, Harry wondered if it would be possible to not sleep at all; no sleep meant no nightmares. But even as he considered it, his body pulled him into much needed sleep, even though it was far from restful.

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One thing Snape hated feeling was uninformed. He had spent the past month doing nothing but researching Potter's case, with the occasional Death Eater meeting in between. Yet even after all of his work, he still had no clue how to help the boy. As odd as it may have seemed to anybody else, Snape severely wished that he could end the pain he was in and prevent the pain he would later endure.

He felt as if he were failing: he was failing Albus, he was failing Potter, and he was failing the entire light side. They were, sometimes unknowingly, depending on him and he couldn't do anything to help. He had already read every book from his private selection and from the library and a few others he had picked up in Knockturn Alley and he still had no answers.

He laid his head on his hand as he sat at his desk, trying to think of anything that he could do.

A sharp pain in his forearm made him rise, change quickly, and rush to the edge of the grounds. He worried about leaving the castle unattended, but Albus had told him not to worry about it, as the wards would hold when he left.

He apparated to a dark forest on the outskirts of a town and joined the circle of masked faces surrounding the Dark Lord. Oh no. Snape thought as he realized why they were there. This was a muggle town and they undoubtedly were about to torture and kill every person in it. This could not be good for the Potter boy.

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Unheard screams filled the Gryffindor tower that night.

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Snape rushed back to the castle around 6 a.m. after a night of watching dozens of muggles being slaughtered. Luckily, he had convinced Voldemort long ago that the killing of others somehow tainted the magical powers needed in the brewing of potions. After many rounds of his favorite curse, Voldemort had finally believed him so now he only had to watch, rather than participate.

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As he entered the castle he rushed down to his office, changed out of the bloodstained robes and then proceeded to the Gryffindor Tower, wishing he had thought to supply Potter with a Dreamless Sleep Potion before he had left for the meeting.

He gave the password, went through the portrait hole, then climbing the stairs to the boys dormitory. As he entered the room that presumably was Potter's (as the signs on the door read the years) he stopped in horror at what he saw.

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A/N: Sorry, I think this is shorter than usual, but I tried to write as best I could. I wrote most of it, then stopped for a couple days, then couldn't really continue, and believe me, my writing is no good when I am forcing myself to write. I did write a bit more than this, but I wasn't finding a stopping point there, so I ended it here.

I don't really like this chapter; honestly, it's slow, and kind of boring. I'm sorry if you felt that way too. Well, as always, PLEASE REVIEW. I'll try to be quicker about posting the next chapter.

-Me