Minerva burst into Severus' rooms and slammed a piece of parchment onto his desk. "I haven't been this angry at a Gryffindor since James and Sirius turned all of my clothes green and silver. I cannot believe the nerve of that boy!"

Severus blinked at the Headmistress. He'd never seen her quite that angry before. "Who are you talking about, Minerva? This doesn't have anything to do with Harry, does it?"

"Of course it does! Harry walks into the Common Room, sits down, and is immediately insulted by Seamus Finnegan. The boy insinuated that Harry and Hermione plotted to kill Weasley so that they could get together! He also happened to mention that he thought that Harry and all of his family members are Death Eaters. I have never been so insulted in my life. She only gave him two days worth of detention, but I have half a mind to make it two months!"

"And how did Harry react to this?"Severus continued sipping his cup of tea. He'd been looking at their newest batch of Defense applicants. None of them looked promising.

"Harry proceeded to break Finnegan's nose, giving him two black eyes. Ariana was pretty sure Harry broke his hand, but she couldn't persuade your stubborn nephew to take himself to see Poppy."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "That's highly unusual for Harry. He's seen far too physical violence to resort to it himself. He's usually rather restrained."

"Ariana said it took the entirety of the Gryffindor Quidditch team to pull him away."

"So we finally see the Malfoy in him. I never thought we would. Of course, his mother got into a few fistfights herself. I suppose that comes with having three brothers and not spending time with females. Please tell me that the detentions are with me."

"They are. Who else could keep them from killing each other?" Minerva sank into one of Severus' comfy chairs. "I never thought that Gryffindors would have so much of an issue with Harry being a Malfoy. Apparently, the whole house, with the exception of the Quidditch team, is against Harry for being who he is, and Hermione for siding with him."

"That's Gryffindors for you, Minerva… too quick to judge, too stubborn to think through things. I would know. Most of my closest friends are, were, in Gryffindor. Lily, Remus, and James didn't really belong there though. The three of them would have been better suited in Ravenclaw. Sirius would have done well in Slytherin, but his temper would have gotten him killed the first day. Don't tell him I said that though. He'd never let me hear the end of it." Severus looked wistfully at the picture of the Marauders on his desk.

"Do you miss them, Severus?"

Severus looked startled at her question. It took him a few moments before he answered. "I miss them every time I see Harry and Hermione acting like Lily would have. Everything can be answered by going to the library, that's what they all said." Severus took another sip of his cooling tea. "I've never told anyone this, Minerva, but since I trust you… every night, especially if I've had a lot of time to myself that day, I have nightmares about the night Lily and James were killed. Sometimes it plays out as it really happened. Lately, it's been Dumbledore killing them instead of Pettigrew and Voldemort. Last night, though, it was me. I woke up shaking and had to call Sirius to reassure me that I didn't kill them, that it really was Voldemort."

"Don't hesitate to come to me, either. I may be your boss, but I'm also your family-- by choice. Remember that. You were not responsible for their deaths."Minerva paused for a moment. "Do you use Silencing wards on your bed? Harry does. He has horrible nightmares as well. I've found him, more times than I care to count, expelling the contents of his stomach after a particularly nasty dream. You should talk to him, Severus. You two really do have a lot in common."

Severus smiled. "Everyone says that."

Late that night, as Severus prepared for bed, he heard frantic knocking on his door. "Professor, let me in, please Professor, they're going to kill me!" He ran to answer whoever was out there. A sobbing, bloodied Draco Malfoy knelt in his doorway.

"Come in, Mr. Malfoy." Severus helped him off the ground and healed his bruises. "Would you care to explain what is going on? It isn't often that I have students knocking on my door saying they're going to die."

"I don't want to be a Dark Wizard, Professor. I want to be like Harry. Even when everyone hates him, he is still able to walk around with dignity that I could never match. I want to have what he has. Everyone in Slytherin hates me now, anyway, just because I'm related to him."

Severus would have laughed had the situation not been so serious. "Professor McGonagall just informed me that everyone in Gryffindor hates Harry because he's related to you. I think you two are more alike than you know." Severus walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a few blankets. He tossed them at Draco. "You may sleep on my couch tonight. We'll talk with Harry and Hermione in the morning."

"Thanks, sir. You're not so creepy after all."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Feel free to blame that on my nephew."

A/n: Sorry for the lack in updates recently. You'll be getting at least three additional chapters by the weekend though, so that should make you all happy.