A little short today. As I mentioned, this is really the second part to the last chapter. Enjoy!

*************

Harry looked up from the wooden table as the two men entered the library. His face held a countenance of half worry, half rising anger. Although his godfather and his professor were both trying very hard to project auras of calm, the boy could see the falsity in the tightly pinched eyes and twitching muscles around their mouths. Whatever they had spoken about had, most assuredly, been heated. Snape grabbed the back of one the empty wooden chairs and scraped it mercilessly across the nicely finished wooden floor to the center of the room. He repeated the motion again, this time placing the second chair so that it faced the first. Sirius, bristling slightly against the carelessness of Snape's treatment of his home, flicked his wand and repaired the small grooves made by the metal chair legs before excusing himself.

"I'll leave the two of you to your lesson. I'll just be next door in the study. Harry, remember what we talked about."

Sirius gave him a very pointed gaze, the meaning clear, before lifting the corners of his mouth into a small smile and winking. Grateful for his godfather's unspoken support, Harry nodded. He didn't have the ability to return the smile at that moment and just watched, dejectedly, as Sirius strode out of the room and closed the door. He almost didn't hear Snape addressing him sharply.

"Potter! Come over here and sit in this chair."

Startled, Harry jerked his head up and looked to where Snape was indicating. He was a bit agitated by the tone of the man's voice. Already, it seemed, Snape was determined to start off on the worst possible terms. Remembering his promise to his godfather, he lifted himself out of his chair and obediantly sat down in the one Snape indicated. His nerves were already on edge and he could feel the early twinges of a slight headache in the back of his head.

"Can I assume that your godfather has already explained what we are going to be doing here today?", Snape demanded in an impatient and haughty tone. Harry nodded his head slightly and forced himself to answer as politely as he could.

"Yes, sir. You are going to instruct me in how to protect my mind from being invaded by Voldemort."

Snape hissed. "Do NOT use the Dark Lord's name in my presence!", he snarled, as he tightened his grip on the back of Harry's chair. Harry took a deep breath and counted to ten.

"Sorry, sir. By You-know-who, then."

Next door in the study, Sirius sat at his desk staring at the far wall to his left. Closing his eyes, he murmured the appropriate incantations and a second later, the wooden wall shimmered away leaving a clear window-like view into the library next door just in time for Sirius to hear Snape's admonishment of Harry's use of Voldemort. Settling back into his desk chair, Sirius folded his hands into his lap and proceeded to watch the lesson. Snape was a fool if he thought that Sirius would not be monitoring the time that he spent with his godson. He noticed Harry's restrained retort and smiled approvingly as Snape spoke again.

"That is correct. Through intense study into the art of Occulmency, you will be able to shield your thoughts and memories from those that wish to infiltrate your mind. It is not an easy thing to accomplish. I myself have doubts that you will be able to maintain the focus and the discipline to acheive success. The headmaster, however, has a significantly higher opinion of you. We shall see which one of us proves to be the wiser man."

Internally, both Harry and Sirius were seething. Wisely, Harry chose to remain silent and he sat very quietly in his chair awaiting further comment or instruction. Sirius was making mental reference to how short this lesson may turn out to be once he was forced to toss Snivellous out on his greasy ear.

Seeing no outward reaction from the boy, a good sign, Snape curled his lip and walked around Harry's chair to sit in the one opposite him.

"I am going to try and penetrate your mind now. You may use your wand to defend yourself, but it would serve you better to try and focus to force me out with your mind instead. Legilimans!"

Harry was caught off guard. The next second, flashes of images went racing through his mind. Scenes from his unhappy childhood with the Dursleys.

Flash! Harry crying as his uncle threw him into the dark cupboard..Flash! Harry sitting alone holding a pair of old socks as Dudley swam in a sea of brightly wrapped Christmas packages....Flash! Harry curled up in a ball on the playground and Dudley and his friends punched and kicked him.....Flash! Harry lying on his bed, dizzy from hunger...

Harry felt himself fall to his knees on the floor, his face wet with sweat. He was dizzy and disoriented from the sharp flashes of light in his mind. Snape grabbed him by the arm and hoisted him back into his chair.

"FOCUS!" he yelled sharply. "You should never have allowed me so far into your memories!"

Harry sat in the chair, trying to regain his senses. He felt terribly violated in a strange way and it did nothing to calm his nerves or his headache. Sirius was perched all the forward in his chair. Harry seemed unhurt and he fought the urge to go running into the library to check on him. He had promised himself that he would not interfere if he could possibly help it.

"I am trying to focus! I wasn't prepared. You didn't tell me how to do it!", he complained loudly. Honestly, how could Snape expect him to accomplish something if he wasn't given any sort of instruction? His temple throbbed and he felt his face flush with shame as he realized that Snape had just caught a glimpse of some of his most embarrassing childhood memories.

Snape circled around his chair again. The disdain in his voice rang loudly in Harry's already buzzing ears.

"You must figure out a way to mentally block my intrusion. I went easy on you. I assure you, the Dark Lord will not be as kind. If he were to get inside of your head, he would torture you beyond madness and make you beg for death. Now, concentrate! Legilimans!"

Pain. Pressure. Hot blinding light. Flash! Harry sitting in front of the Mirror of Erised...Flash! Harry dangling from the flying Ford Anglia....Flash! Harry in the kitchen of Privet Drive as Aunt Marge berated his mother....Flash! Harry fiercely hugging Sirius in his hospital bed at St. Mungo's....

Flat on his back on the floor, he rubbed his head where it struck the hardwood. Panting and sweating, he fought to regain his breath as Snape once again dragged him to his feet.

"How touching," he mocked with a sneer. "Your godfather certainly coddles you like a child, doesn't he. How nice it must be for you."

Harry bit back a curse as his breathing became labored again. In the study, Sirius was fuming but he still could not blatantly claim any real abuse on Snape's part. He reminded himself that Harry was going to have to endure these mental attacks as he studied the art. As a former Auror, he knew the training. He didn't like it, but he knew it just the same.

"Focus, Potter! You must discipline your mind! I am not going to waste my time here if you refuse to do the basic necessary defenses. I assume you can feel my presence in there, can you not?"

Reluctantly, Harry was forced to nod the truth.

"Then concentrate! Force me out. Do whatever you have to do to remove my presence from your thoughts. Defend yourself. Your body can heal but your mind is so much more vulnerable. Legilimens!"

Screaming. His mother's screaming. He had heard her many times during the dementor attacks. Flash! Uncle Vernon holding him by the collar and shaking him....Flash! Aunt Petunia spitting out the hateful words as she called his mother a freak....Flash! Harry falling from his broom as the dementor's attacked during the Quidditch game....Flash! Harry watching as Peter Pettigrew transformed from Scabbers...Flash! Harry over Sirius' knee getting paddled from the Hogsmeade trip...NOO!!!!

Harry was standing, wand in hand, over Snape as the man furiously rubbed his right wrist. The look in the professor's cold black eyes was murderous. Harry's chest was heaving with exertion, his mind raging over the intrusion.

"That's private!", he fumed. Snape sneered. "Not from me. Tell me, did your godfather teach you the stinging hex? Or did you learn elsewhere?"

Confused, Harry looked down at the man's wrist again and saw the swelling red welt. Had he done that? Snape lifted himself from the floor and tapped his wrist with his wand. The skin immediately healed. Harry was starting to hyperventilate. He had attacked Snape physically. He was in so much trouble.

"Harry? I think that is enough for today." Harry heard his godfather's voice from the doorway. He closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down. Sirius would understand that it had been an accident, wouldn't he? He had tried so hard to keep his temper. He heard Snape's snarl as the man headed for the door.

"I'll be back next Friday, Potter. In the meantime, I expect you to practice keeping your mind closed off. Your performance today was, unsurprisingly, dismal." With that, he swept out of the room and back to the parlor.

"Harry? Come into the study, please."

Harry kept his eyes closed as he groaned. Sirius sounded really upset. Opening them, he caught a brief glimpse of his godfather's face. He was scowling as he turned and left the room. Resigned, Harry followed him slowly. Whatever was going to happen next certainly could not be good.

************************************************

In the study, Sirius was fuming as he made his way to his favorite reading chair. He summoned another from the corner of the room and brought it next to his own. How dare that man! He didn't know what it was that Snape made Harry mentally endure that was so painful that Harry had an attack of uncontrolled magic, but whatever it was had traumatized his godson. With all the restraint twelve years as an inmate taught him, he repressed the desire to strangle Snape right there and then. The look on the poor boy's face as he realized what he had done broke his godfather's heart.

When Harry made his way into the study, his face was still contorted in grief. Sirius mentally cursed that greasy git for causing his poor boy more pain. As if Harry had not endured enough. He seethed as he thought of all the way's he would make the man suffer.

When Harry saw his godfather sitting rigidly in his reading chair, he felt himself pale. Sirius was furious, there was no mistaking it. Of course he was. How many times did he tell Harry to keep his temper? How many times did he say how important these lessons were? Harry had promised to act respectfully and courteously and what had he done? He had hexed the man on the first day.

Sirius was watching as Harry's face went pale. It made him even more angry at Snape. What had that man done to his godson that he was still reeling? The map was now angrily smacking Sirius in the back of his head trying to get his attention. Annoyed, Sirius banished it back to the desk with an angry wave of his hand.

Harry's eyes went wild as he saw his godfather snap his hand back angrily. His hands started to shake as his mind went wild with the memory of the last vision Snape had intruded on. In his distressed state, it made perfect sense. As punishment for stinging his professor, Sirius had called him into the study for a spanking. Hadn't he promised Harry that he would deal with him if he misbehaved during the lessons?

No no no no please no......

Sirius was now really concerned. Harry was not only pale and shaking, he looked positively frightened. His mind went back to the morning after the nightmare. Harry had been calmed down a great deal by Sirius holding him on his lap for a bit. Maybe that's what the boy needed now.

"Harry, come here, little one," he said calmly as he patted his right knee.

Watching his godfather pat his knee, Harry knew he had been right. Sirius was going to spank him and there was nothing Harry could do about it. He couldn't even defend himself. He had attacked his professor and now he had to pay the price for it. Shuffling his way forward, he breathed a small sigh of relief that at least there was no sign of the dreaded paddle. Yet. He made his way slowly to where his godfather was sitting and stood to his side, breathing heavily. His behind was tingling uncomfortably with the memory of how much it had hurt the last time.

"It was an accident, Sirius. I swear. I'm sorry. I know you're going to punish me, but I really am sorry," he said as sincerely as he could. Sirius had taken hold of his wrist as he stood next to the chair shaking. Harry was starting to lean forward to lay himself across his godfather's lap when he felt himself being pulled into a different direction. Without realizing it, Sirius had positioned him so that he was sitting on his right knee as his godfather enveloped him in a tight embrace.

"I know it was accident, little one. I know," he soothed in a low calm voice as he held Harry close. "I am so very sorry that you have to go through this. You don't deserve it. I was so proud of the way you held your temper today. I don't think I could have done it. You defended yourself. Why would you think that I would punish you for that?"

With a shuddering breath, Harry felt himself begin to relax. He had been so sure that Sirius was angry with him. He should have known better than to think that of his loving godfather. Sirius had promised to watch over him and he kept his word. He pressed himself farther into the large chest and closed his eyes, relishing the comfort of his godfather's soothing hand rubbing his back. His head was still pounding fiercely and he felt worn out from the mental exertion.

"I..I just thought that..I don't know. Never mind."

Sirius held him until he felt the boy relax against him. He was much calmer now. When Harry sat up, Sirius guided him into the chair he had summoned.

"Are you better now?" he asked, concern heavy in is voice. Harry nodded. He was, and the color had returned to his face.

"Yeah, I am. Thanks."

Sirius looked at him very concerned. "Why did you think I would punish you, Harry?"

Harry swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. "You told me to be respectful to Professor Snape. I thought that you were angry that I had hexed him."

Sirius sighed. Poor boy. That was why he looked so upset. He mentally berated himself for blaming it solely on Severus.

"You are allowed to defend yourself from the mental invasions. You are not in any trouble for doing so. You did the right thing. I was just worried to see you so upset."

"Do you want to talk about it?", he asked when Harry refused to meet his eyes.

Harry thought for a moment. As much as he loved his godfather, he didn't want to discuss his private memories with him.

"No, not really. It was just harder than I thought. I didn't know what to do."

Sirius smiled at him proudly. "You did just fine for a first attempt. I told you it was going to be hard. It will get easier as you practice, you'll see. Professor Snape is correct, though. You are going to have to practice. Every day, if necessary. This is very important, Harry."

Harry nodded, relieved that Sirius understood. "I know. I will."

"You look wiped out. Why don't you go take a nap before lunch. You'll feel better when you wake up."

Harry nodded again and stood. He was tired and a nap sounded good. As he walked out of the study, he didn't see his godfather's face fall and grow concerned.

***********************************************************************************

In the dark musty parlor at Spinner's End, Severus Snape uncorked a bottle of firewhiskey and poured himself a small tumbler of the caustic amber colored brew. Although it was still very early, he grabbed it desperately, tossed back the glass and swallowed half of it in one gulp.

What was Albus thinking?

Of course Severus knew that Petunia Evans disliked the magical world that didn't include her. Her disdain was apparent whenever he had spoken to her. But he also knew that she had loved her sister. How could she treat Lily's son so poorly? He tried not to dwell momentarily on his own treatment of the boy. He contented himself with the memory that he had tried to persuade Dumbledore to send the boy elsewhere only to be me with overpowering resistance. Did Albus know then? Did he know now? Severus swore to make him painfully aware of the damage that had been inflicted.

Severus' mouth had gone dry while viewing the boy's memories of abuse and neglect. Subconsciously, he had always thought that Potter's Muggle relatives would have at least provided him with the basic affection one would give any small child placed into their care. Obviously not in the Dursley household. Unwillingly, he began to feel a small kinship with the boy. Severus' own childhood had not been one of love and comfort either, but he had at least had the occasional moment of affection from his mother when his father was not beating one of them. The images of Potter lying hungry in the dark prickled at the corners of his mind. No wonder the child was so small and skinny. No wonder he so looked forward to coming to school each year.

Snape's mind whirled back into memories of his own past. His muggle father had behaved much the same way as Lily's sister. He grew to hate magic and he brutalized both Severus' witch mother and then himself. All the nights of fighting and crying. The small snippets of happiness in the Snape household were few and far between. As much as he detested James Potter, even Severus would not wish a life like his own on the bully's offspring.

Not much surprised him, but he found himself gobsmacked by the realization that Prince Potter was certainly not raised as such. The idea that he should rethink his position on James Potter's son rankled in him and he pushed it back. The child could certainly be an arrogant little know-it-all, there was no denying it. Also, the idea that the mutt would actually give the golden child a spanking shook him to his very core. In a million years he never would have believed it if he had not seen the memory in his own mind.

Throwing back the last of the burning liquid, he grimaced at the stinging sensation in the back of his throat. He looked ruefully at the almost empty bottle. If he was going to continue these lessons, who knew what he would learn about Potter. He would definitely need another bottle.

**************************************************************************************

"It's your birthday next week. What would you like to do?" Sirius asked animatedly as they ate lunch that day.

Harry blinked in surprise. What did he want to do? Having had no experience with actually celebrating a birthday, he couldn't answer the question.

"Um, I don't know."

"Well, what do you normally do?"

Harry's face flushed with embarrassment. He didn't want to tell Sirius that the Dursley's never even acknowledged the day. Sirius didn't need to be told. The look of despair on his godson's face, coupled with his knowledge of the past treatment by his aunt and uncle told him everything he needed to know. He reached over and cupped the side of the boy's face in his hand, heartbreak evident in his silvery eyes.

"Oh, Harry." He didn't say anymore. Harry turned his eyes away in shame and Sirius fought against the choking feeling in his throat. The unforgivable curses were too good for the Dursleys.

"No matter," he continued, forcing himself to be cheerful. "We have to do something to celebrate your first birthday living with me. What would you like? We can do anything you want."

After a moment, Harry looked up at him shyly. "Could I have some friends over, maybe?", he asked in a hopeful voice. Dudley had always had large parties with tons of friends around. Of course, Harry had not been allowed to participate, but it had looked like fun and he missed his mates from school.

Sirius winked at him, a small weak smile on his face.

"Absolutely. I think that is a brilliant idea. As many of them as you would like."

Harry beamed as he began to think of things that he would like to do with a house full of guests. He loved the idea of being able to invite his friends to his own home. It was going to be so much different this year and he had his godfather to thank for that. In a rush of affection, he threw his arms around Sirius and held tightly to him as his godfather rubbed his back.

Fighting a sob in his chest, Sirius swore that he would make this party one that his godson would never forget.