"Severus, I didn't know..." Lily frowned at an obvious loss for words. Apparently marriage had filled her wits. She was still beautiful. Her hair was still red. It didn't appear she had changed at all. He swallowed down the urge to hex her. It wouldn't soothe the wounds she'd carved into him years ago, nor would it suit his current aims. "Please, Sev, I didn't realize..."

"You didn't realize that I would be here this quickly or that I might have a vested interest in certain students that attend this sad, pile of rocks?" He tilted his head and watched her pale further. "It's of no consequence. I am aware of the situation, and my patience has reached its limit."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what was going on." Lily took a few small steps toward him. "Harry didn't mean to hurt her. James taught him the bloody spell without explaining how lethal it was."

"I don't want to hear your excuses. Your poor boy, his irresponsible prat of a father, you didn't know. It is an old song. I've heard it all before, and I do not care." Severus snapped his robes against his body. "Where is the rodent?"

Albus Dumbledore was pacing through his office, ranting in languages Peter didn't know. He dropped his eyes to the ground. It was better not to let the old man into his mind at times like these.

Combating his instinct to run was proving harder than ever. Dumbledore, Lily, and Severus were all going to blame him for this.

They were each terrifying in their own right, but the Riddle boy sent chills down his spine. That one was dark.

"Tell me what young Tom did." Albus settled into the chair behind his desk and resumed his dotty headmaster mask.

"He ran his hands over the wounds and chanted. It wasn't a spell." Peter rubbed the back of his neck.

"It wasn't a spell you know." The headmaster corrected him gently. "Did you recognize the language?"

"No." Peter shrugged his shoulders. "One of the others cast a weak muffliato. I could tell he was speaking, but there was no way to discern words."

"They must have been aware he was going to use dark magic and decided to cover for him." Albus steepled his fingers and frowned.

"No, it's their protocol when she's injured." Peter shrugged. "They have protocols for everything. It's all her doing. The Granger girl doesn't leave much to chance."

"Protocols?" Dumbledore sat forward. "She's training them for something?"

"I have no idea what she's doing." Peter fidgeted on the chair. "They have two kneazles in their rooms and a ward system that recasts if you bring a layer down. It's impressive work."

"No matter." Dumbledore waved his hand imperiously. "Continue on with your recounting of Riddle's activities."

"He pulled that curse out of her." Peter shook his head. "I didn't know it was possible, but he dragged it out of her body and tossed it to the ground. It wasn't a light anymore. It was a writhing, purple puddle. He burned it up the flames were green. It was bizarre, and, if I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't believe it."

"He broke it free of her, but it was fed on her blood." Dumbledore frowned. "It's a dangerous healing form. It was abandoned centuries ago. How and why did the boy learn it?"

"I have no bloody idea, but the boy challenged me. I can't duel a student." Peter shook his head. He definitely couldn't duel that student. He didn't like pain, and he was fairly certain that boy did, at least the inflicting of it.

"I doubt it will come to that." Albus sighed and set his beard dancing around his mouth. "There will be a price for their silence, a steep one to be sure, but a price none the less."

"You can't attack Peter." Lily rushed forward and grabbed Severus' arm. "Sirius and James would come after you."

"Ah, the lifelong bonds of friendship." Severus shook her hand off and smoothed his robes with careful attention.

She took a step back and looked up at her own childhood friend. There was no warmth in his gaze as he assessed her. His eyes absorbed the light around him and his lips curved in a mocking smile. He was a man she didn't know.

"If your dear husband and his dog approach me, it had best be to offer compensation." Severus looked toward the Granger girl's privacy screen and his features softened. "I was a powerless cast off when they tried to destroy my life. I am not so inconsequential, now. I assure you. They don't want to bother me with any nonsense."

"I'll talk to James." Lily took a step back from Severus. "We will have an offer for you soon."

"Yes, you will." He looked her over carefully. She knew she looked fine, but knowing and feeling became very different things under his gaze. "Your marriage must be a source of constant comfort and delight. You hide up here in Scotland for the better part of each year while he stays home with the dog. A relationship to envy, indeed."

There was nothing she could say. He'd been hurt so badly. James, Peter, and Sirius had been set on fixing him for getting Remus expelled, and she'd let them. She'd ignored their plans. Their plan to make him impotent for a time had gone awry and made him irreversibly infertile. It had been hushed up, and she hadn't found out until years later. It had been a bad shock. She'd married and born children for the man that had stolen the joy of fatherhood from her one time friend.

A soft cough drew her eyes away from the friend she had so thoroughly betrayed. The new student was standing there. He held himself stiffly.

"She's awake and asking for you, sir." The boy inclined his head.

Severus brushed past her and disappeared behind the privacy screen. She watched as the boy followed in his footsteps, and she was alone.