Chapter 5

It had been more than a day since he had seen Snape. Misty acted as if it was normal for her master to just disappear, so she was no conciliation. He thought about owling Dumbledore at lunch, but he didn't know what good that would do. If he got a reply, it'd probably just be vague and useless. At the end of dinner, when Snape didn't show up, he briefly thought about owling Voldemort to see if had killed him off, but chucked that idea as quickly as it appeared.

At two o'clock in the morning, he finally gave in and owled Dumbledore. He even owled Draco Malfoy before he could talk himself out of it.

Do you know where Professor Snape is? He hasn't been home all day.

If something's happened to him, please tell me.

Harry Potter

He got a response from Draco Malfoy later that morning over a breakfast he barely touched. It came with a quill wrapped with it.

A Death Eater meeting went wrong and he's in the hospital wing.

The quill is a portkey. If will activate ten minutes after you get this.

Draco Malfoy

He threw the note on his plate. He grabbed the quill impatiently and waited for the familiar tug. After it came, he found himself lying face first on a floor. He picked himself up and looked around. It was the hospital wing. In the bed next to where he fell lay the prone figure of Severus Snape.

When he heard footsteps behind him he whirled around to see Draco. He was wearing the same robes from the day before yesterday, except they were wrinkled and a little grimy. His hair was mused. His eyes were red rimmed and a little clouded over.

"What happened to him?" he asked.

"What the hell do you think happened?" Draco hissed.

"If I knew Malfoy, I wouldn't be asking," Harry growled.

Draco flew at him and grabbed his arm in a near death grip.

"I'll tell you then. Somehow, You-Know-Who found out that you were staying with him and he decided to have a little fun. Do you know what 'fun' is to the Dark Lord? DO YOU?!" he shouted.

There came a few strangled gasps from the bed next to them. They looked over to see Snape trying to sit up in the bed. His was haggard and he was a little paler, if that was even possible. His face was a little contorted. Other than that though, he almost looked normal.

"Professor, you're alright then?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Of course I am. You should know what kind of wonders Madame Pomfrey can do," he commented scathingly.

"Draco, let Poppy give you some dreamless sleep potion," he told the blond.

He nodded and left, but not before giving Harry's arm a warning

squeeze and him a scathing look. Harry dragged over a chair and sat down in it.

"So what happened to you is my fault then," Harry commented.

"And here I was, getting the impression that you didn't have so big an ego. If you want to know what happened you'll just have to wait for the Headmaster to show up so I don't have to tell it twice," Snape said.

Harry nodded. Snape closed his eyes and leaned back. Neither of them said anything more until Dumbledore came. And it took him a good three hours.

"How are you Severus?" he asked subdued.

"No worse for wear," he answered.

Dumbledore conjured a chair and sat down. Then he looked pointedly at Harry.

"If you don't mind, Professor Snape and I have to things to discuss," he veiled the command.

"No Headmaster, Potter should stay," Snape said.

Dumbledore waited a bit.

"It appears as if I'm out numbered. Well then, please continue," he said to Snape.

Snape scooted himself into an upright position. A few grunts was the only noise he made before he settled.

"The Dark Lord found out that Potter has been staying with me. It appears as if Misty was tricked into revealing the information. How, I do not know," Severus told them.

"And the extent of your injuries?" Dumbledore inquired.

Snape hesitated. He looked at Harry before answering.

"A couple rounds of Crucio, and a few more distasteful curses. He was about to use the Killing Curse when I used my emergency portkey," he said rancorously.

Dumbledore stood up and vanished the chair.

"Is your Manor still safe?" he asked.

"Yes," he replied.

Dumbledore gave him an absent-minded pat on the leg before he left. Harry played with some loose threads of his clothing. Snape was looking at him again.

"Are you going to say anything?" Snape demanded.

"How long has Malfoy been a spy?" Harry asked.

"About as long as you've been staying with me. And that's not what you want to say," he replied.

Harry looked up.

"You already know what I want to say," he told him.

"Well I'm not letting you leave," Snape said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"This time you'll have to wait for an answer Potter," he smirked, "Now go to Dumbledore and get some floo powder."

Harry did just that, but he went with impulse and didn't go directly back to the Manor. Instead, his first stop was the Burrow.

It was early in the morning when he showed up. Mrs. Weasely was the only one up. When he flood in she nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise, but was very happy to see him.

"Harry dear, what are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I thought I'd say hi to everybody," he answered.

"Well come and have some breakfast. Its good to see you healthy dear, not your usual skin and bones," she invited.

She put a plate in front of him and piled it high with food of all kinds. When she was done there she went to the foot of the stairs and yelled for everybody to come down.

"They'll be down in a little. Hermione's here too. We asked Dumbledore if there was any way you could stay with us this summer, but he said you had gone to stay with someone else," she chattered lightly.

Harry swallowed his food before answering. "Ah yeah. Um… Did you or Mr. Weasely happen to be any of the people keeping an eye on me?"

"Oh, Dumbledore must have told you after all. No dear we weren't. Arthur's been busy with the Ministry, and what little spare time I have is going to getting headquarters livable," she replied.

"Headquarters?" he asked.

"Did you think Dumbledore wasn't going to start up the old gang after what you told him last month?" Mrs. Weasely asked.

Harry shook his head and went back to his food.

While he was on seconds there was a huge crash upstairs. A few yells accompanied all the bangs. A few minutes later, several scruffy and sleep starved people made their way to the table. There were four red heads bowed over their plates and a brunette hiding behind a book. It took a while for the tallest of them to look up.

"Harry! When did you get here?" the boy demanded.

The brunette looked up from her book and remarked, "Harry's here?"

"Just a little while ago," he answered.

"So what's it like…" one of the other red heads started.

"Living with the Greasy Git?" his twin finished.

Harry thought before he replied, "It's alright. Not near as bad as you'd think."

"What are you doing here though? In your last letter you said that Professor Snape wouldn't let you visit," Hermione piped up.

"Well, things change sometimes," he said cryptically.

Back upstairs Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in Ron's room holding a meeting of sorts. Ron and Hermione were on Ron's bed, while Harry was on the bed usually reserved for him.

"So what did you mean by 'things change'?" Hermione asked.

Both sets of brown eyes were staring at him, waiting for an answer.

"Well, Snape's in the hospital wing. Apparently, Voldemort found out he was a spy because his house elf was tricked somehow. Anyway, after I found out, I got some floo powder from Dumbledore and came here, only they don't know," he explained.

"So are you staying at Hogwarts then mate?" Ron asked.

"No, Snape still figures its safe to stay at the Manor," he said.

Hermione shifted a little on the bed at this point. She looked a little uncomfortable.

"Harry, I don't want to pry, but why are you staying at the Professor's and not the Dursleys'?" she inquired.

"Dumbledore thought it would be a good idea. Listen, I've got to get back home. I'll owl you soon," he said hurriedly.

They watched as Harry just about ran from the room. They heard Mrs. Weasely say goodbye and him say "Snape Manor".

"Why would Harry call Snape's house home?" Ron asked no in particular.

Hermione shook her head meditatively and went downstairs to get her book.

Harry spent the rest of that day and the next few by himself in the house. Misty wasn't much company. She was feeling awful about what happened to Snape.

Snape himself was still in the hospital wing. Harry visited him an hour or so after supper everyday. Thanks to Madame Pomfrey's skill and Voldemort's impatience, he was making a fast recovery.

After six days of putting up with both of them insistently asking for him to come home, one asking a little more nicely than the other, she finally relented. When they got back, a plain brown owl was waiting for them on one of the tables in the library. Snape took the parchment from its leg and opened it. When he finished reading it, much to Harry's surprise, he passed it over to the boy.

Harry, Severus,

I hope you know that those spells won't keep you safe for long. I already have people working on ways to break through them. Soon, even Hogwarts won't be safe for you. Severus, I enjoyed our last get together, but we need to make it longer next time. And a little more entertaining. But don't worry Harry, you won't be left out. In fact, you can be the guest of honor. Oh, by the way, how was your visit to your little friends? You might want to make your good-byes to them now. Say hello to the doddering old fool for me, and give him my regards.

Lord Voldemort

"You went to see Weasely and Granger without permission didn't you?" Snape inquired icily.

"I had to tell them what was going on in person. I couldn't just owl them about it," he defended himself.

"Yes you could have. It's for reasons like this that I banned you from seeing them in the first place," he shouted as he brandished the letter.

"Did you want a group of Death Eaters to go the Burrow and kill them all to get you? That's what would have happened if you didn't have such damnable luck," he hollered.

"That's bellow the belt sir. You know I don't want that," Harry said furiously.

"Well it seems like that. When are you going to learn rules are in place to keep you and your silly friends from killing yourselves, you stupid fool," he hissed.

"If I'm so damn stupid why do you even bother? Wouldn't it be better to just get rid of me?" he demanded.

Snape sighed heavily and dropped into a chair.

"I bother because everyone else who cares about you is also more than willing to watch you die if it will mean the end of this ridiculous war. And I don't want to "get rid of you'," he said wearily.

Harry shifted from foot to foot and asked horrified, "They want me to die?"

"Not really, it just seems that way to me when they just shake their heads and grin every time you come away from the Dark Lord," he complained.

"Well, um… I think I'll go to bed now," he said as Snape nodded consent.