BitterSweet Chapter 12:

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling therefore do not own any of the characters etc. etc...

Severus Snape's POV:

With the potions bottled, labeled and placed on Slughorn's desk, I retreat to my ever-messy bedroom, happy with the thought of sleep despite the clock proclaiming it to be just nine-thirty. Changed into my pajamas, I settle myself under the blankets and wait for sleep to overcome me. Patiently waiting, I toss and turn, hoping that at some magical moment I'll be unconscious, but as I hear Slughorn enter noisily I realize that it must be late, with no such magical moment to come. I remove my wand from under my pillow and cast a charm for time, annoyed to see it's already one-thirty in the morning. I angrily shove my wand back under the pillow, infuriated with myself and my inability to halt my thoughts. I generally sleep despite my constantly running thoughts, but tonight happens to be one of those nights where everything is on fast forward. And perhaps for a good reason: the face of Grandma is constantly reappearing. I obsessively search my mind for an answer, a key, something to help. The idea of being in class for six hours tomorrow, time that could be better spent on finding a solution, only harasses my mind further until one word pops up in my mind: Horcrux.

Showing no signs of tiredness I jump out of bed as I quickly murmur "Lumos", searching my room for the piece of paper I managed to obtain on Horcruxes. I groan as I pick up a piece of paper that is covered in dried blood. Of all the pieces of paper I had to pick for a bandage, it had to be the one that mattered the most! Spreading the piece of paper flat on my bed, I use various cleansing charms to attempt to clear the mess, but only achieve roughly ninety percent visibility, made worse by the deep crinkles that the sheet obtained from being ripped out of its book and scrunched against my wound. Resigning myself to the fact that it's as good as I'm going to get, I focus on the text, the font alone telling me how old the magic is.

The Darkeste of Magiks: HoreCruxes
A single soul,
Split in two,
As result of an inhuman want,
The numbers are few.

Of the cruelest nature,
The soul splits in a bid to be free,
Giving the owner and extended future,
Until, whole, death can once again claim thee.

The wickedeste of magik,
For the wickedeste of men,
Whom turn their lives from nature,
And who in the face of death, are no longer frightened.

I think back to what I had previously read on Horcruxes – I only got through the introduction of the book in my detention with Slughorn. The introduction, which flicked to and fro between English and Latin, talked of souls and immortality yet had no mention of splitting the soul. It makes logical sense, the theory: as a man becomes so against nature, his soul splits in disgust, tries to break away and hides away in anything but the man, ironically preserving him in all of his unnatural ways by making him the most unnatural of things: immortal.

But how to make one? Surely, it must be something worse then murder for many murderers would then be, by choice, immortal. Even the classification of Horcruxes as the darkest of magic hints at extreme methods. It's almost a taboo subject; indeed, in all my studies of the Dark Arts I have only heard Horcruxes in mentioning, never having crossed any direct texts until – I suddenly remember the book that disappeared in Slughorn's library, only to reappear in detention: Horcruxes and How to Make Them. If the creation of Horcruxes is as dangerous and dark as I expect, then the book is not only rare but highly illegal. It's so frustrating that it has to be hard to obtain such information, information which could save the lives of Grandma and Lily. And me. Rationally speaking, it's understandable that the information is difficult to come by, as it would be disastrous in the wrong hands. But this is the key I need.

Determined, I shuffle my feet along the cold tiles, yet only just reach my door when I hear the main door creak open. I quickly jump into bed and resume reading, knowing Professor Slughorn would have noticed my light escaping from the crack around my door in the dark expanses of the main room. Sure enough, a few moments later he knocks gently on my door before opening it slowly.
"Severus!" He exclaims, his eyes blinking rapidly and his lips wet with drink. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"Uh…studying."

"Well, you cannot keep on this way or you'll burn your energy out. Now go to sleep."

"Yes, Sir." I mumble, waiting until he closes the door before I settle and lie down in the bed. A little rest couldn't go awry for Merlin knows I need my energy to uncover the information on Horcruxes. Exhaustion quickly resumes, my body and mind finally agreeing I'd done a considerable amount of action for the day. My discovery will have to wait till tomorrow.

I wake up earlier then intended, unable to keep the thoughts at bay for long. Deciding that a shower might be wise I head to the bathroom shared with Slughorn and gather my things. I look at the bottle of shampoo from Grandma with a little apprehension but one look in the blasted mirror convinces me to use it. Once I'm changed, I head to the Great Hall for breakfast, moodily picking at the pancakes, trying to think of how I'm going to protect Grandma not only from Voldemort but from herself. The only solution I can come up with is Horcruxes, but first I must learn and understand them, a challenge in itself considering the gravity of the subject. Taking one last swig of pumpkin juice, I swiftly walk out of the Hall, not bothering to glance at the Gryffindor table. I make a detour to the library before class in an attempt to find any useful books in the Restricted Section through my secret spot, but am unable to reach any relevant books. Frustrated, I make my way to Potions, too caught up in my schemes to notice Lily until she bumps into me slightly. Her anger last night is called to mind and I choose to remain silent as Slughorn enters the room, giving Lily the chance to break the silence herself. I wait and wait for her to talk but lose hope when Slughorn beings handwriting the instructions on the board. Bloody Gryffindor pride!

"Morning, Lily." I greet cordially.

"Morning, Severus." She responds neutrally, watching something. I follow her gaze to see Slughorn merrily walking towards us and I realize we haven't started. I quickly walk over to the bench of needed ingredients and gather the items, keeping an ear out for Lily's conversation with Slughorn. When I return with the armful of materials, Lily has already set up the cauldron with a fire burning neatly. I look briefly at the method and allocate tasks, handing Lily the flobberworms while I tackle the pickled spider's eyes. Despite the quiet hum of conversation around us, our work station is rather quite, only emitting sounds of chopping and squelching.

"So, how are you?" I query.

"Well, thank you. And yourself?" She replies formally.

"Well enough I suppose." I answer, annoyed with her lack of effort. I'm tired of always being the peacemaker.

As I continuously stir the potion, repeating the change of direction every three full rotations, I critically gaze at the thick yellow substance which is supposedly meant to be in its last stages. I flick to the recipe in my book to see where the mistake is. The flobberworms have, considering their apparatus, largely contributed to the thickness and yellowness of the potion. In order to counter that, as listed in my notes, 5 drops of the Essence of Dove would be needed to achieve the expected orange colour.

"Hang on Lily." I say, stopping Lily from adding the final ingredient. "It needs something else."

"Severus, we have followed the book exactly, it doesn't need anything!" She says, exasperated.

"Do you trust me?" I ask, turning away and walking over to Slughorn before I hear her response. I'm not sure if I'm ready to hear the truth. "Professor, may I go to the storeroom to retrieve another ingredient? I'm quite positive that it will enhance the potion." I justify. Slughorn looks up at me from his desk and waves his hand dismissively in the air.

"Yes, yes that's fine."

I stroll into the storeroom and locate the Essence of Dove, the flask being on a bottom shelf. Next to the flask, I recognize the pile of books that I had worked on during my half-detention. I quickly return the flask to the shelf and bend down to the pile, searching the titles for the one book which has constantly been on my mind. All the other books are here, except for Horcruxes and How to Make Them. Frustrated, I once again grab the flask and return to Lily, pleased to see she waited for me before continuing the potion.

"This better work Sev." Lily threatens as she stirs while I add the five drops, sure to space them decisively by twenty-six seconds. Sure enough, twenty-six seconds after the last drop, the potion turns to a thin, watery orange. Lily looks at me almost ashamedly and I raise my eyebrow at her. She lightly passes her hand over her face and sighs gently. "I owe you an apology, Sev. I should not have let the anger get to me like it did last night, and I should have trusted you more." She apologizes, one hand still on her forehead as she looks at me. I just shrug my shoulders.

"That's ok. I'm rather used to not being trusted now." I reply darkly. Her expression suddenly changes to the one emotion I can't handle – pity.
"Potion is bottled.' I announce, holding the flask up to divert Lily's attention. She blinks a few times.

"I'll hand it in while you clean up." She says, prying the flask from my fingers.

"How did I get left with cleaning duties?" I question. She just grins and gives a brief wink before making her way to Slughorn's desk. After earning a praiseful exclamation from Professor Slughorn, Lily returns to our worktable and helps me clean up.

"You go on ahead to Defense and I'll be there in a moment. I have to ask Slughorn something." I tell Lily once we finish cleaning. She looks at me suspiciously but just nods.

"See you there."

With the classroom empty, I approach Professor Slughorn.

"Professor?"

"Ah, yes Mister Snape – what can I help you with?"

"I had found a rather good book the other day but haven't been able to find it since. I'm doing a project, you see, and I was wondering if you'd please grant me permission to use the Restricted Section of the library?" I ask, attempting to mimic Lily's smooth use of words but already feel their failure as Slughorn's face darkens.

"Mister Snape, I'm quite sure you'll be able to find the book if you look for it hard enough. I don't feel you quite need to enter the Restricted Section if you've only misplaced your own book – dare I even ask why you posses such literature – now, scurry along boy." He dismisses albeit angrily. I wheel around swiftly, angry that he has denied me – since when? I hadn't expected the rejection; my plans are now quite useless.

Frustrated, I head to the DADA class room. The class, rather then moving onto hands-on projects, is sitting down, studying theory. I opt for a subtle entrance as I slowly ease into the room, seeking the first free space. I moodily sit next to Gryffindor's Mary Macdonald who merely lifts her head higher as if to get her nose above a foul stench. Not that I care. Naturally, I search the room for Lily and find her seated a few rows ahead, Potter by her side. I clutch my wand in anger. The hardest part would truly be picking which curse to use first. Professor Reimers advances my desk, and irritated look on his face. "Mister Snape, why are you late?" He demands, a few students' heads popping up to observe.

"I was talking to Professor Slughorn." I reply as smoothly as possible. Professor Reimers is well known for his shifty moods – one of the Gryffindors once loftily commented that the man might actually be a woman, a theory which explains his moodiness.

"Five points from Slytherin. You can see Professor Slughorn during his class time, not mine Mister Snape. Now, turn to page 788 and read the Wandless Magic section." He orders before walking away. Vexed, I roughly open my book, only to hear a sigh of annoyance from Mary. Ignoring her, I open to the Wandless section and immerse myself in the knowledge in an attempt to forget my latest embarrassment.

Thoroughly in the midst of summarizing the thought processes of Protego, my thoughts are bought to a halt as Mary sighs again, with even more annoyance. I look up at her from my book, ready to tell her to take her petty femininity somewhere else but the words leave me as I follow her gaze to see Potter with his body side-up against Lily, one arm around her shoulder. Quickly, I flick to the chapter on wandless curses to reimburse my knowledge of wandless magic. I've never really practiced it before but I'm quite confident that there is no time like the present.

Plan formulated in my mind I sink into my seat and shift to the right for a better view, angling myself while bringing the book up to cover my face. Peeking over the top of the text I note Professor Reimers at his desk at the front. I remove my wand from my pocket and press it against my leg in an attempt at stealth. With another glance at the notes, I look above the book once more and focus all of my energy into hexing Potter.

"Stupefy!" I will in my mind, but nothing happens. I attempt it twice more, the curse being shouted in my head, until finally the red spell shoots from my wand. The second it leaves my wand I place it back into my pocket and have to forfeit seeing it hit James to maintain my innocent pretense as I lower my eyes to the text.

In the next moment, a great yelp echoes in the classroom and as I deem it safe to look up, I see Potter rubbing his bottom tenderly with both hands, having relinquished his hold on Lily.

"What is the meaning of the disruption Mister Potter?" Professor Reimers asks, getting up from his desk.

"Sorry, Sir, but I was hexed unarmed!"

"I did not hear any curse being uttered."

"We are learning wandless magic, sir." Potter replies cheekily.

"Indeed, but today is the first lesson and I doubt anybody has mastered it yet. Five points from Gryffindor." Professor Reimers declares as the class finishes. I snigger as I gather my things, earning an accusatory glare from Potter. I easily walk out of the room, only stopping when I feel a gentle tug on my arm.

"Hey Lily." I welcome as Lily walks beside me.

"Hey Sev, I've got to run to the Owlery then see Professor Flitwick about an advanced project - can we meet by the lake at lunch?" She hurriedly asks, looking up from a piece of parchment she was reading to look at me in the eye.

"Sure." I answer. She gives me a small smile and breaks off at a jog to the Owlery, her red hair quickly disappearing amid the sea of students endowed with hair of black and brown – incomparable, in my opinion.

At the beginning of lunch, I grab a bite to eat – favoring the beef roll – and eat as I approach our tree. Swallowing my last bite, I stop as I recognize Lily standing by the lake, her wand drawn despite nobody nearby. I follow the direction of her wand to see, on the opposite side of the lake half hidden by a set of trees, a group of sixth year Slytherins, in particular Crabbe and Goyle.
"Go on, mudblood, show us what you got!" Crabbe jaunts, his voice carrying over the field.

"Sod off you Slytherin bastard. You aren't going to see anything here!" She throws back, sending a stupefy their way which is hastily blocked by Goyle's Protego. The boys' smiles widen.

"No wonder Snape fancies the mudblood – quite feisty, ain't she?" He saunters. "I think we came to see a show!"

He curses an unidentifiable spell at Lily, who, too riled up in a witty comeback doesn't shield herself. Feeling an utter fool for allowing her to be hit by Crabbe's spell - although it is undoubtedly amateur – I move forward to Lily, no longer frozen to the spot. I once again stop, though, as I realize the back of Lily's skirt is slowly lifting up, the buttons on her blouse undoing themselves. Before I can look away the spell reveals Lily's underwear –black with white polka dots –a jeer from the Slytherins brings me back to reality before I am lost in a series of thoughts.

"Woo hoo – mudblood HAS something!"

While Lily quickly turns around to mutter a counter curse, I move over to her, easily stupefying the boys now that they are in my range, saving Crabbe for last.

"Wait." Lily says, halting me with a hand on my arm. "I want to deal with him." I let Crabbe out of my magical grasp, expecting Lily to hex him immediately. Instead, she removes his wand with a hasty "Expelliarmus" and then runs up to him.

"More?" He asks cheekily. She does not reply but rather responds by punching him square in the face. He reels back in pain, grasping his nose. Lily smoothes down her skirt and briskly turns on her heel, walking away at a fast pace towards the forest as the boys arise from the stupefied stupor, Crabbe still clutching his now bloody nose. I jog to catch up to Lily and grab her arm as we just enter the forest.

"Lily." I plea when she attempts to struggle against me, trying to pull away. I give her a gentle tug. She finally stills and settles for staring at me, my hand on her arm preventing her from running further into the forest.

"What, Sev?" She asks wearily. I look into her eyes, her magnificent green eyes, and see the turmoil of emotions. Anger, frustration, embarrassment, hate, shame. The simple look she gives me is overwhelming, the language conveyed by her eyes unmatchable by any words I could utter. What do I say?

I look earnestly back into her eyes hoping that they will tell me what I'm best to do next, but instead, her eyes allow a single tear to penetrate the defenses and fall silently on her flushed cheek. My body instantly moves, knowing what is needed and what to do despite the lack of mental comprehension. I step forward and gently grab Lily, slowly pulling her body to mine as I wrap my arms around her smaller frame. For a moment, I wonder if I was too bold and curse myself for acting without thinking, until her arms slowly wrap around my torso, her body shaking lightly. It is only as I feel a wetness on my robes that I realize she is crying. I pull her back to look at her. She looks at me tearfully, her face even redder and stained by her tears. I tenderly lift up my arm from around her body to stroke away the tears with the tip of my sleeve, brushing her cheeks with gentle touches, forgetting myself in an attempt at comfort.

"Lily, do you want to talk about it?" I ask softly, releasing her from the embrace, knowing all too well the debilitating feelings associated with embarrassment. She brings her hands up to her face, half in an attempt to dry the new river flow of tears, half in an attempt to cover her face. I take a slight step forward but she takes a step back and lifts her hand into the air in protest. Albeit frustrated, I stand still with my arms by my side, trying to control the urge to clam her myself rather then watch her attempts.

After a moment or two, I see her visibly calm down as she recomposes herself. She removes her hands away from her face and once again looks at me in the eyes, her face slightly puffy and red. Unexpectedly, Lily races her hand through her hair while letting out a low groan of anger. She begins to pace between the unordered trees, never straying too far. I stay still rooted to my designated spot, waiting and hoping she'll confide in me.

"I don't know why I let it happen! I should have been far more prepared for those bastards!" She suddenly says half to her self while pacing around, her wand in hand.

"Has this happened before?" I ask.

"Yes, to some extent." She replies hesitantly, her pace quickening tenfold.

"To some extent?" I prompt, but receive no reply. Knowing that time is quickly passing by and unable to deal with the wait, I move from my spot and quickly move over to Lily, grabbing her arm as I once again pull her to me. "Lily, what do you mean, to some extent?"

"Simple. It has happened before, although with variation of embarrassment." She states frustratingly, rubbing her hands on her face as if to make the pain disappear too.

"Lily, what did they do, exactly?" I ask slowly, gently.

"They used to just call me names, but then it got worse. They'd start poking me in the sides to make me squirm and, as they got bolder, would smack me on the bum. And then since your fallout with Lucius they've been jinxing my skirt so that it automatically lifts up – I had gone a whole hour once without realizing that my underwear was on display!" She says, the words free flowing as she breaks from my grasp and starts walking between the trees.
"Then the bloody bastards managed to create a charm to undo the buttons of my blouse so that I'm practically undressing in front of them! I've never felt so humiliated!" She nearly screams in anger, her body quivering in the frustration and hate.

I feel my fingers and muscles contract, but my mind is surprisingly clear with only two thoughts being the main occupants: The first being that I need to comfort Lily and the second that if they ever look at Lily again, they will find themselves eunuchs. I take two long strides and wrap her in my arms. She resists a little – probably on some notion of femininity – and then relaxes in my embrace, slowly winding her arms around me. I rest my chin on her head, silently admiring her soft, scented hair; such a harsh comparison to my own.

"I wish you told me earlier." I mumble into her hair, pulling her tighter against me when I feel her small body shake again.

"I could deal with it on my own." She retorts, sniffling.

"I never doubted that, Lily, but I wish I was there to at least support you." I whisper back. "Is that why you've been snappy lately?" I question, remembering the unexplained anger of late.

I hear a small "yes" as she presses her head harder against my chest, tightening her grip on me. I rub my hand on her back soothingly while seething inside. How dare those bastards harass her like that?

When Lily's breathing once again becomes regular, the tears having stopped falling, I loosen my hold and take a small step back.
"We should head back in." I say, knowing we've missed part of the next lesson. She nods silently, taking a look through the trees to see Hagrid's hut, the lake and finally the castle itself. She takes a little step forward and turns her gaze to me.

"Thank you, Severus." She whispers as she unexpectedly wraps one arm around my neck to pull me towards her as she reaches up on her tippy toes to kiss me. Her plump lips move briefly in unison with my own, the sheer sweetness of the pleasure almost too much, yet too soon she pulls away and consoles me with a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you." She repeats. I just nod in response and offer my arm back to the castle, happy that we were protected from view by the forest's trees. She accepts my arm as we walk out of the shallow area of the forest and out into the open.

We walk in silence, neither of us awkward but rather at a mutual understanding. Merlin knows that I have been subjected to harassment and embarrassment. We stop by the lake a moment on our way back.

"How embarrassing!" She half chuckles, running her hand over her face again.

"Please, at least you had nice underwear, unlike mine. And my…undergarments were showcased to half of bloody Gryffindor." I attempt to comfort, though the bitterness is detectable in my words.

"Oh, so you like polka dots, do you Severus?" She teases as she pulls me back towards the castle, a smile on her face.

"You should know, Lily, they're my weakness." I reply sarcastically.

"I'll have to remember that!" She smartly retorts as we enter the staircase area, before she merrily skips off to the next class. Slightly shaking my head, I make my move towards the Divination Tower.

I take my time as I walk, with the intentions of missing the class. I leisurely walk the various deserted halls, contentedly noting the different, intricate carvings along the wall – gleefully aware that my procrastination will see to the end of the Divination class, when Professor McGonagall rounds the corner, determinedly making her way towards me with deliberate strides.

"Mister Snape! What, in Merlin's name, are you doing skipping classes and walking around aimlessly?" She interrogates, her face contorted with anger. "I have been looking for you for quite some time." She states, not allowing me to defend myself. Not that I have a decent enough excuse. "Quickly Mister Snape, come with me to the Headmaster's office. It's of great emergency." She explains, grabbing my arm and tugging it gently. Silently, I quickly follow McGonagall to the heart of the castle where Dumbledore's office resides. Before I know it, I am standing in front of a weary looking Headmaster.

"Severus, I fear you'll have to leave us briefly. Mercury, here, will take you to your grandmother who is waiting impatiently for you." He says hurriedly. I open my mouth with the question "what happened" on my tongue but lose the chance as Mercury steps forwards and takes my hand. Not even the gut-wrenching pull that comes with Apparition distracts me from my thoughts. Is Grandma safe?

The instant I feel my feet touch the ground - once again in the parlor of the Manor - I scan the room, my wand drawn. My eyes sweep the room yet I cannot see her, but surely, Mercury wouldn't have apparated me to this room without reason. My eyes flicker to the fireplace– perhaps I'm expected to Floo somewhere- and I walk over to the arranged seats. Once I sit down, I hiss loudly upon the recognition of the person in front of me who was previously hidden from view – Grandma has become so reduced that she barely even takes up the space on a chair; she looks fragile enough to disappear into thin air. I jump out of my chair and leap to her side, bending down on one knee so my face is level with hers. I painfully note the hollow cheeks, the sharp concave shape a far cry from the healthiness it once was. Her body has shrunk to a mere skeleton, but worst of all, is when I look into her eyes – oh Merlin! The once prized vividness and zest are all but annihilated, the only description fit for the current state being gaunt, cold; like Xavier.

"Grandma, what happened?" I whisper, scared that any louder volume will blow her away. She blinks a few times.

"They've killed him, Severus." She hoarsely mutters back, her lips barely moving. I can't help but feel a little exasperated. I was rather under the impression she did not like him so much.

"Have they done anything to you?" I ask, moving my hand atop of hers to offer her some shred of comfort.

"It does not matter." She replies automatically. Her words and her helpless state enrage me.

"It doesn't matter!" I repeat, angry. "Merlin's balls it doesn't! Now stop this nonsense and tell me how I can help." I demand. I hate to see a powerful woman reduced so.

"Language, boy. I simply wanted you to come here to sign the Prince will so that when I die…" She begins.

"That's it." I interrupt, standing up. "Mercury!" I call, turning a little from Grandma to face the house elf. Mercury apparates by my side and stares at me apprehensively. "Please take Henrietta to her bed." I order. Grandma's eyes widen.

"Not that bed! Never to sleep there without Xavier!" She exclaims with more force then imaginable, given her current state. Annoyed with my own insensitivity I nod in acknowledgement and then order Mercury to prepare and furnish a spare bedroom before taking her there. It takes a few moments for Mercury to reappear, having completed my orders.

"Master Prince, I will take you to Mistress Prince." Mercury explains as he holds out his hand.

As soon as I arrive in the room, I run over to the bed where Grandma is lying down, knowing that time is short. I cast a diagnostic spell over her and read through the list, trying to determine what needs immediate attention. It's obvious that she'll be needing some highly complex potions, and a wonder she has survived this long.

"Mercury, please give me a list of the current Prince potion stocks and bring the basics here." I order, moving my attention to her fever. With Mercury gone, I turn to Grandma who is watching me with somewhat narrow eyes. "Grandma, you are not going to die. I am going to do all I can to nurse you back to full health so that you can stop this nonsense talk." I explain calmly, sitting on the side of the bed.

"They killed him Severus." She states simply.

"Yes." I admit. "But what better way to avenge Xavier then by undermining Vo – You-Know-Who?" I cover, seeing her eyes widen as I begin to name the Dark Lord. Mercury returns with a list and a few potion flasks in his arms. "And the best way to do that, Grandma, is if you are in full health." I conclude as I take a Dreamless Sleep from Mercury. I open the flask and gently hold it out to her. She leans up fractionally and takes the flask into her hands, giving me a calculated look before swallowing the contents.

"You're such a cunning man, Severus. Such a good boy." She murmurs as she sinks back into the bed, the Dreamless Sleep Potion taking no time to work. Once she slips into unconsciousness I turn my attention to the list of potions and let out a groan of anger as I realize that they virtually have no supplies at all. It would seem that I am about to be very, very busy.

"Master, Mercury will take you back to Hogwarts now." Mercury announces in a whisper, rousing me from my uncomfortable slumber on a chair. Grandma has been running fevers and thrashing around a bit, to the extent that I figured it would be best to watch over her for the night to ensure she doesn't do anything radical, as I cannot treat her due to lack of correct potions. And I wouldn't dare summon Healers.

I nod to Mercury and rub my eyes in an attempt to dispel the overpowering sleep as I rise out of the chair. I walk silently to Grandma who, thanks to the remaining Dreamless Sleep, is sound asleep.

"Ok." I whisper to Mercury who once again places his hand in mine, apparating into Dumbledore's office in the next moment. I stare with surprise into the face of Professor Dumbledore, who, despite the early hour of the morning, is wide wake with the morning sunlight filtering through the ancient windows to light his aged face.

"Good morning, Mister Snape." He greets cordially.

"Good morning, Professor Dumbledore." I respond, unsure as to whether I must stay or am free to leave.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell me?" He inquires.

"Not really, although there is something I wish to ask." I say. May as well take the opportunity while I can.

"Ask away, Severus, ask away."

"As the potions at Prince Manor are running dreadfully low, I was wondering whether I could brew the various needed potions which will be needed…to nurse Grandma to health."

"Of course you may – in fact, if I were you, I'd ask Professor Slughorn as to whether you can use his own lab. I'm sure he'd be more than obliging. Unfortunately, you cannot miss any school time and so the potions must be brewed outside school hours. If Henrietta's health is in danger…" He begins.

"She is stable, though her preservation relies on these potions. It is impossible to send somebody there, given the circumstances."

"Given the circumstances." Dumbledore confirms. There is a short moment of no talking where the only sound is the ticking of Dumbledore's collection of devices; the sound is so gentle that it's almost calming in the early hours of the morning.

"How often may I visit her?" I ask, placing my hands behind my back to stop from fidgeting.

"You can visit her each evening, after your classes and after dinner, if you like. The curfew, in your case, can be much more flexible, too." He answers. I nod – I suppose I shouldn't have expected much more.

"Thank you, Headmaster."

"No need, Severus. If you need help, I'm only too happy to be of assistance." He reminds me. Giving one final nod, I exit the office and make my way to the dungeons, fully intent on making the most of the early hours, with the only one image in my mind being a frail and broken Grandma, as I bring the cauldron closer.

Hello everyone :)

Ah, where to begin? With the thousands of apologies? Perhaps that's a start. I'm sorry that it has taken me OVER FOUR MONTHS to update the chapter -once again, I lost track of time. As you can see by the volume of this chapter, it felt as though I was working on it quite often. It just turned out that I didn't work on it hard enough or fast enough so that you could all enjoy (hopefully!) it at the same time.

In this chapter I'm trying to show the different strains on Lily (as well as Severus) that may become reasons for tensions with their relationship with each other as well as other relationships. Bullying is a dreadful part of life, something which I've had personal experience in and so I hope I was able to convey the absoltue hurt and anger that one gets from being such a victim; I believe that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and you will certaintly see Lily's personality shape and grow along with Severus'.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as I always hope, and I ask for you to please review, keeping it in mind that with the inspiration of your reviews I am motivated to work faster!

Thank you to all my loyal supporters who manage to review, your constant support is invaluable to me. And to all of you who have PM'd me over the past year - it's been an absolute joy to talk with you, discuss various theories for the story and to see your passion for my own creation; you have been another source of inspiration! So, having said that, feel free to send me a Private Message :)

On another note, despite what the unregistered "klester" reviewed (PS, if you're reading this, SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE!) I managed to edit chapters 1-12. That's not to say that they're perfect, just hopefully a little more grammatically sound!

Lots of love,

Angela
(Missteque).