I'm drunk. Please excuse the following…or actually, don't. This is just a little transition Chapter…more drama to come! And YES I was considering the threesome idea, but at the end of the day, Draco is just too unrelenting and serious where Hermione is concerned…But don't underestimate! Harry will not be an easy adversary as you shall see soon enough….Umbridge too! She will be back!

M. x

Severus Snape was overwhelmed with a sense of foreboding that he could not explain. His tired gaze was glued to the door of the Drawing Room as he sat alone, contemplating the last few days. He didn't know why, but the feeling had hit him suddenly, and he realized that he had needed to be close to her again. And so therefore, he traveled a great distance to return to the place where she had died. His Lily.

Severus was sure that a love so great would never leave him and he continued to pay for his sins with the thought of her beautiful soul gone, banished from this hellish world. All because of his mistakes. How he wished to join her. It was doubtful though. He was sure they would never be reunited, for he was heading to a much darker afterworld. A place where he would continue to wallow in misery and suffer…without her. What a cheerful Monday morning, he mused to himself as he glanced towards the long, tear stained windows. It had been raining and sleeting since he'd returned hours ago, and now, more than ever, Grimmauld Place felt like the worst sort of prison. The darkness of the day settled upon his heart with relish and he tapped his foot impatiently awaiting the much-needed distraction. He had sent word to Sirius late last night that they were to have a meeting at promptly 9am the following morning. It was 8:57 and no one had answered his summons. That was fine, he was taking the time to catch up on the notes he had found littered across his once pristine potions lab. Apparently Draco and Pansy had made quite the breakthrough in the last 24 hours and Black had updated him briefly about the Gala, Miss. Granger and one Ronan Black…how interesting. What Severus really wanted to know, however, was the reason behind Mr. Weasely's change of heart. Apparently he had returned to the house late last night and had only spoken to Sirius before retiring to Miss. Parkinson's room. Curious.

The door swinging open just as the clock hit 9am interrupted Severus' thoughts: it was his nemesis' and his only love's son. And he looked furious. Harry Potter barely threw him a glance before seating himself on the couch and staring pointedly in the opposite direction. Oh, so he was still mad about the little slut? Well, who was Severus to turn the girl away? It had been years and she was more than a little aggressive with her demands; it didn't take much convincing on his part to spread her cheeks, bend her over his desk and pretend that she was Lily. Ms. Weasley had been of age and she had practically thrown herself at him. To be perfectly honest, Severus Snape couldn't resist. Especially since his actions had come back to haunt the swaggering hero and take him down a couple of pegs.

But it seemed as if Potter's mind was far from thoughts of Ginny. Yes, Miss. Granger strikes again, Snape thought with amusement. They sat in silence for several minutes before Malfoy came strutting into the room, his sleeves rolled back, showing off his Dark Mark with carelessness. The arrogance, Snape thought contemptuously. Insubordinate youth!

From the looks the two men were giving each other, it was clear not much had been resolved since he had last seen them. Draco sneered as he leaned up against an old dresser, refusing to have to sit next to The Chosen One. Potter seemed to be close to spitting fire, he was eyeing Draco with intense mistrust. But they waited in silence. Several more agonizing moments passed before Hermione burst through the door, looking around wildly, she had apparently overslept; her hair was an insane fuzz ball and she was still wearing one slipper. Pansy slid in right behind her and to almost no one's surprise, she was holding Ron Weasely's hand. Snape motioned for them to sit. They did, uneasily.

The silence was beyond excruciating as Snape found himself looking around at the mismatched children. He hoped Potter was happy; all of this was entirely his fault. 10 minutes must have passed. Draco was staring unrelentingly at Granger, who was steadily ignoring him. Instead, she was trying to catch Potter's eyes that were glued to his best friend. Weasely was looking at the floor and Pansy was glaring obnoxiously at him. Snape looked away from her mocking sneer and to the clock once more, it was apparent that Black was obviously not going to show, what is he up to? Snape brooded with suspicion until he could no longer bare the tension.

"So it seems, Black is too…royal….to grace us with his presence, and so the meeting will begin….now." All of them straightened up to attention, their eyes landing on Severus, eager for the next plan of action. "I have been informed of the events that occurred over the weekend. And I have read the papers…" He threw an arched eyebrow at Hermione who was suddenly looking contrite. "All further announcements to any sort of media outlet will be cleared through me first, is that understood?" Hermione opened her mouth to argue but Pansy cut in.

"Well how the hell are we supposed to do that if you're off gallivanting for the weekend?" Ron smirked, Severus Snape gallivanting was a very humorous image.

"Miss Parkinson you will keep your mouth….shut. While I am speaking." His eyes glimmered dangerously. "Is the Veritiserum ready?" He snapped.

"Yes. Upon your approval it should be ready for testing." Draco's tight voice came from the corner of the room. He had refused to join in on their little huddle. He was on edge. He hadn't seen Granger since their fucking incredible night together; and now she was avoiding him. Potter hadn't come knocking on his door yet to hex the shit out of him, so he could assume that she had decided to keep her mouth shut. And by the looks of it, it was killing her. Only a matter of time, he snarled to himself.

"Good." Muttered Snape, his gaze turning to Ron. "And you…Mr. Weasely? Are you back to stay? Is it safe to say your….hissy fit….has concluded?"

"Yes." Ron spat and Pansy ribbed him with an elbow. "Sir." He added reluctantly.

"Good. Then you will return to active duty next week. In the meantime, the upstairs corridors need cleaning, I expect you to take care of this immediately." Ron glowered but kept his mouth shut. "And before we go any further, I would like to confirm that all personal matters that reside under this roof have been…dealt with accordingly. In other words, if any you even touch a hair on the other's head you will be out of here faster than you can…possibly….imagine. I am done with your little games. This is an elite resistance organization and if you cannot handle yourselves in a mature and professional manner then I have no use, for any of you. Is that…understood?" There was an unwilling murmur of consent. "Good. Now onto business."

Snape glanced around at the lot of them. There were so young…so stupid. How could they possibly imagine the heartache they were going to have to endure because of their rash and stupid decisions? Didn't they realize he knew better? That his advice was to help them, not hurt them. Of course, Sirius Black would disagree and boast about living in the moment and embracing everything that life threw at you. But Black wasn't here. And therefore, Snape was in charge.

"Now, Mr. Parkinson and Mr. Malfoy, I will accompany you down to the labs where we shall finish the potion. In the meantime, Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger will be writing up their questions and discussing tactics regarding the interrogation of the suspect and will meet me at the Ministry by 5pm this evening to administer the Veritiserum. We will hopefully find out who has been conspiring with Umbridge and where we can find them."

They all nodded, looking at one another with every emotion ranging from determination from Potter to jealously from Draco to hopelessness from Hermione. Snape lifted himself from his seat.

"Any….questions?" There looked to be about a million floating around, unasked, but they stayed silent.

"Dis….missed." They scattered like ants. Granger was the first one out the door, followed quickly by Draco who seemed to be hot on her heels. Potter stood blocking Weasley's path.

"Ron-"

"I've forgiven Hermione, you know? I can understand why she wouldn't tell me…but you. Don't talk to me. Don't look at me. I'm not here for you." He glanced at Pansy before shoving roughly past Harry and slamming the door off the hinges. Pansy threw Severus a dirty look before exiting, herself.

It was only him and Potter. The silence was already beginning to ring in Severus' ears.

"I know where you went this weekend." Potter muttered. Severus raised a condescending brow as he finally met his eyes. It pained him so greatly it almost brought him to his knees.

"Don't look at me." Snape spat before throwing back his black robes and hurrying across the room to the door.

"I'm sorry. " Potter's voice was so low, Severus had been sure he had imagined it. He stopped short. More silence. "And I know what it feels like. To fuck up. To lose." Severus closed his eyes against the waves of torture washing over him. He could barely breathe.

"The past….is irrelevant."

"It's not." Harry insisted, stepping up beside him. "It's everything that was, everything that could have been."

"Gone." Severus whispered, eyeing the man beside him.

"I know I've never said this. But…thank you, Severus."

With a snarl of anguished fury, Snape tore from the room, he did not want his thanks. Didn't The Boy Who Lived realize? All was lost. It had always been lost. Always.

Harry stared after Snape as he disappeared down the corridor. He shook his head and steeled himself with resolve. Just because Snape had failed, it didn't mean he was going to. Now was his chance, he was going to win her. When had she ever failed him before? With that last thought, Harry Potter left the library and went in search of his other half. He suddenly had the intense desire to show her exactly how he felt.