Disclaimer: I don't own HP!

Chapter 120

March 24, 1996

Tonight's lesson was given to me by the Minister. I was shocked when I walked in the room and saw him standing there. I guess this means Minister Shacklebolt is in the Order after all.

Anyway, it was a lesson on evasion. Basically I needed to be faster than the spells. At one point I had been so focused on dodging and evading spells, I crashed into the wall. I have a feeling I'm going to have a bruise tomorrow but I'll be fine.

I'm fairly tired, even thought I didn't cast the first spell the entire evening. If I learned any one thing though is that while I'm out of shape, I'm not as out of shape as I thought.

But dear sweet Merlin do I ache. I'll be lucky to move tomorrow.

As for moving, I know it was just a stray thought before but I'm seriously considering moving down here with Snape on a permanent basis. I like it down here. Yes, I want to strangle him when he yells at me but at least I can pretty much tell beforehand when he's going to yell.

I managed to get on his good side over the library incident, too. When I went down to see Cisteria this morning, she let me have more shed skin and an old egg that never hatched. They went to Snape, who practically danced when I handed them over.

H. Potter

Harry plopped down on his bed in the dorm. He had a headache that rivaled the one he had after he had hit his head on the wall. This time, though, it was from another occlumency test.

Either it was from exhaustion because he hadn't been sleeping much or it was because Snape had been extremely forceful, but his shields had been forced apart. (Thus, his headache.) He had then received some pointers about how to keep it up.

Ron came in the dorm a couple minutes after he downed the Dreamless Sleep Draught.

"Harry, are you okay?"

"No, but I should be in the morning."

"Hermione's pissed at you, again."

"What else is new?" He yawned, already feeling the potion taking effect. "It's not my fault Snape keeps pulling me away. I promise I'm not slacking off. He does make me study."

"I think if there was a way she could actually see you study then she'd back off."

Harry rolled his eyes. "No, she won't. Does she harp on you when you don't study during your free periods?"

"I ain't stupid. I tell her I study even when I don't."

"I tried that but it didn't work. Evidently I'm a bad liar."

As he was climbing beneath his covers, Neville came in the room. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. "Uh, Nev, do you have green skin?"

He saw Neville look at him funny. "Not since I looked a second ago. Are you all right?"

"I'm purple. Good circle." He was then unable to keep fighting the potion and fell asleep.

Ron and Neville looked at each other.

"Did he just tell us that he was purple?" asked Neville.

"He did," admitted Ron. The red head spotted a half empty vial on the night stand. "I've seen him take this before but he's never acted this strange."

"Reckon we should get McGonagall?"

Ron sighed. "No. That's a dreamless sleep potion. He won't wake up the rest of the night. If he's still being weird in the morning, I'll make him go to Madam Pomphrey."

"Maybe he's just tired?" suggested Neville.

"Maybe ..."

Harry awoke the next morning with his head killing him. He blindly stumbled to and opened his trunk and began looking through it for something for a headache.

He had nothing.

A wave of nausea hit him and before he could stop himself, he threw up in the middle of the room.

"Harry?" came a voice behind him.

He slammed his eyes shut, mainly to stop the spinning sensation. Unfortunately that just made it worse.

"Harry, answer me or I'm going to get McGonagall."

He now recognized the voice as belonging to Neville.

Harry put his head on his trunk, unable to move back to the bed.

"Potter, what's wrong?"

"Headache," he muttered. Had he fallen asleep sitting in the floor?

"Drink this," came the soothing voice of his Head of House.

He drank a portion of it only to immediately throw it back up.

"Sorry," he muttered, then winced at the loudness of his own voice.

"Can you stand?"

"If you'd stop the room from spinning," he said weakly.

He vaguely thought he heard a muttered apology before every thing went black.

When Harry opened his eyes next, he winced at the brightness of the infirmary.

He sighed. Just once, he'd like to go an entire year without ending up in here. If there was another plus to moving in with Snape, it was that the man was a potions master and trained in healing. He had a feeling it would decrease his visits to the hospital wing drastically.

"Are you awake?"

He slowly turned his head to see Lupin sitting at his bedside. "Yeah. Why am I here this time?"

Lupin chuckled. "You do end up in here an awful lot. You had a severe headache. Weasley and Longbottom said you were talking nonsense last night and this morning you got sick."

"I vaguely remember getting sick. What's wrong with me?"

"You had an occlumency test with Severus yesterday, correct?"

He nodded - albeit slowly.

"And did you take the Dreamless Sleep Draught last night?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You took it with a severe headache."

He narrowed his eyes in thought. "I wouldn't do that. I know the warnings about that potion. I've looked it up. If I take it with a headache, I could become delirious and get very sick. Of course, there's also the fact that I might not wake up at all."

"You took it and you didn't take anything for your headache, either."

Harry grimaced. "Snape's gonna flay me alive. I know better."

"Last I saw him, he was yelling at your dorm mates. They explained how you were acting last night but figured all you needed to do was to sleep it off."

"That's not their fault. I didn't tell them about the headache or that I was taking a potion."

"Mr. Weasley saw the potion vial next to your bed."

"I normally hide it after I take it," he reluctantly admitted.

"Why?" asked Remus.

"Because they don't need to know I take potions to help me sleep nor that I rely on it to get a full nights rest." He then slammed his hand over his mouth. "Why did I say that?"

"The potion for migraines combined with the potion to help your body expel the Dreamless Sleep Draught can cause you to speak the truth."

"Veritaserum?"

"Not quite, but it does make a very mild form of a different type of truth potion."

"Great," he muttered. "Uh, why aren't you in class?"

Lupin laughed. "Anxious to get rid of me, huh? It's my free period. I have to go in a minute."

"Oh."

"Your books are over there," he said as he nodded at the table beside of Harry's bed. "Ms. Granger brought them down this morning after Professor McGonagall brought you down."

Harry nodded.

As Remus stood, he said, "oh, and Harry, I think moving down with Severus would be a good thing for you both. However, moving down there to avoid the hospital wing is not a good reason." He then winked. "You talked in your sleep."

He moaned in mortification.

After Lupin left, Madam Pomphrey came along. "How are you feeling?"

"I still have a headache," he admitted.

"Still?" She muttered under her breath as she scanned him. "Everything is fine. Here's a mild pain reliever. Small sips of it every two hours."

"I'm not leaving today?"

"I might let you out this evening. Here's a potion for nausea. Only take it if you need it.":

"Yes ma'am." He immediately took a small sip of the headache relieving potion and forced himself to stay awake as he reached for his Ancient Runes textbook.

Severus was furious.

Oh, the day had started out well enough. He had finished brewing several potions early that morning. He had shipped a few more orders out with his owl. He had even managed to finish grading his fourth year essays.

It was on the way to breakfast that his day rapidly started going downhill.

As he was about to enter the Great Hall, Granger stopped and informed him that Harry was in the hospital wing - again.

He rushed up there to find Potter throwing up almost nonstop into a conjured pail.

He also found Weasley and Longbottom at the foot of the bed looking extraordinarily guilty, so he pulled them away and questioned them.

Their foolishness in not reporting Harry's strange behavior could have killed him. After reading them the riot act, he headed over to see his son, who was now passed out.

"How is he?"

"He has a migraine. He'll be fine. He expelled all of the Dreamless Sleep Potion."

"He knows better than to take that with a headache," he said with no small amount of frustration.

"It's possible the headache distracted him from what he knew," Minerva said.

"Well it shouldn't have."

"Severus, when he wakes up, you will not yell at him," scolded Minerva.

"His lack of thought could have killed him," he pointed out in irritation.

"And I doubt he'll make the same mistake again," Minerva said calmly.

"He shouldn't have made it to begin with," he replied hotly.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "He shouldn't have but Severus, you demand perfection from him and he's not perfect. No one is. Remember that when you talk to him later."

He sighed in resignation as he watched his son sleep fitfully.

He eventually had to head off to class.

It was dinnertime before he could return.

He found Harry asleep so he settled in a nearby chair and waited for him to wake. He only had to wait ten minutes.

"Snape?"

"How are you feeling?" asked Severus as he picked up Harry's wrist to check his pulse.

"My headache is finally gone but Madam Pomphrey had to give me some kind of green potion to make it go away."

Severus frowned. That was a very strong headache reliever. A stray thought entered his mind. "Are your Occlumency shields up?"

"Yeah. I thought of that earlier. They're fine." He then sighed. "Go ahead and yell at me."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Why would I yell at you?"

"Because I should have known better? Because I could have accidentally killed myself? Because I should have told Ron and Neville what to look for if I took that potion and showed strange side effects?"

Severus looked Harry over. Albus was right. (He had met the Headmaster in a meeting during lunch.) The boy was already beating himself up. He didn't need the added guilt.

"We all make mistakes, Harry. I doubt you'll make the same one again."

His son looked at him incredulously. "You're not gonna yell?"

"No."

"Just when I think I can anticipate the lectures, you do something to surprise me."

Severus bit back a chuckle.

Friday evening found Harry sitting in the common room playing exploding snap with Ron and the twins.

He was raking up a sizable debris pile when an explosion nearby garnered his attention. He laughed along with everyone else as Lee Jordan was being chased around the room by Alicia Spinnet, who was now sporting flaming devil horns and a matching tail. Even Hermione was fighting back a laugh from behind the book she was reading.

Snape had, thankfully, given him the night off - no doubt to make sure his headache was truly gone this time.

If he moved in with the man, he would definitely miss all of this. He eyed Ron. Maybe his best friend could help him with a decision.

At the end of their game, he asked Ron to follow him. Once in the dorm room he asked, "I've been thinking about something on and off for a while now and I was wondering if you think it's a crazy idea?"

Ron gave him a weird look. "You have to tell me what it is first."

He took a deep breath then exhaled slowly. "I was ... well ... I am ... er ..."

"Spit it out, Harry," Ron said while looking at him.

"I'm afraid you might hate me."

"Why? Are you cheating on Susan with Ginny or something?"

Harry sputtered. "No. I see Ginny as a little sister. And I wouldn't cheat on anyone!"

"Well, then seeing as how you're not touching my sister, I doubt I'm going to hate you."

"I want to move down to Snape's rooms permanently," he blurted out.

"Why?" asked Ron slowly.

"Because, well ... I enjoy the times I stay down there. I already stay down there at least four nights a week."

"But Harry, you have more freedom when you stay up here."

"I know. I figure Snape will also give me rules but ... I just feel that if I moved down there, we can get to know each other better."

"I don't understand though, Harry. You should be able to do that now."

"I learn bits and pieces but its not the same." Harry paused and thought about how he could explain his reasoning so Ron could understand it. "You had eleven years before you came to Hogwarts for you and your dad to get to know each other. I wasn't given that chance."

Ron frowned but then nodded. "It's for you and him."

"It is. Especially with the war heating up the way it is. I want us to have good memories of each other should one of us get killed."

Ron then took on a determined expression and nodded. "Then go for it. Just make sure you are allowed to stay up here occasionally."

"Are you sure? This means you'll have to go down there even more. I don't want to make you even more uncomfortable."

"I'll be fine. Well, as long as he doesn't pull that vampire stunt again."

Harry laughed. "I can't believe you fell for it twice."

"Yeah, well. We will never discuss that again," Ron said as he flushed the color of his hair. "Have you asked him, yet?"

"Snape? Not yet. I figure I'll ask tomorrow."

"Harry ... why do you still call him Snape?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why don't you call him dad or father?"

Harry paused as he rummaged in his desk for something. "I ... I don't know. I've never really thought about it. Do you reckon he wants me too?"

Ron snickered. "I doubt it. I was just curious. Come on. Find a chocolate frog for me too then let's let Hermione lecture us on something."

"I've got a better idea," Harry said as he threw the box of candy at Ron. "Let's go distract her from the books. She needs a break before her brain fries."

"I like that idea even more," admitted the red head with a grin.

Severus carefully stirred the potion he was currently brewing. He was trying to improve the Wolf's Bane Potion as well as a nerve regeneration potion. He had several infirmary potions brewing as well.

As he deftly cut up some yarrow roots, he heard a tentative knock at the door. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Potter lingering in the threshold. "Yes?"

"After my lesson with Dumbledore, can I talk to you about something?"

"You may. What is he going to be teaching you tonight?"

"Fire. He also told me that if I grasp it pretty well, he'd show me how fire and water can be combined defensively."

Severus grimaced. "Go to my personal stores and grab a jar of burn salve."

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Harry tap his wand against his personal store cabinet. When he had given Harry the bedroom, he had also assigned him his own password to get into the cabinet.

"I hope I won't need it," Harry muttered.

"That makes two of us," agreed Severus. "Just make sure you pay attention to what he says."

Potter then left the lab.

An hour into his brewing had passed when he felt his left arm twinge. He sighed in annoyance. He needed to get Albus and Potter to replace the silver warding wire. He wished the Dark Mark could be removed. He hated that the Dark Lord still held that power over him.

As he finished bottling the last of the infirmary potions, he idly wondered if Potter could remove it. It was placed in parseltongue after all. Surely it could be removed in parseltongue as well. He needed to review the memory of his marking.

He glanced in the cauldron containing the Wolf's Bane Potion he was trying to improve and frowned. Evidently adding crushed lotus leaves caused the liquid to turn into a solid. He vanished the potion then made the appropriate notes in his personal potions grimoire.

He stirred the nerve regeneration potion. It needed to brew on low heat over night, so he set up a protective shield and left his lab to wash up.

After his shower, he grabbed his potions' journal to make a few more observations.

It was three hours later when Harry entered his quarters followed by Albus.

"How did the lesson go?" he inquired curiously.

"Minus one minor incident, Harry here seems to be a natural at controlling fire."

"One minor incident?"

Harry flushed. "I got ... a little excited and my magic flared a little stronger than I meant it too."

"Did you get hurt?"

"Just a small burn on his arm, Severus. I applied the salve to it immediately."

He nodded. "I'm glad you're here, Albus. I need the coil on my arm replaced."

"I'll floo up to my rooms and grab the silver wire. I'll be back in about five minutes."

After Albus left, he looked over at Harry. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Er ... after we re-apply the wire."

Severus frowned at Harry's increased fidgetiness. The boy looked nervous for some reason.

A half hour later had Harry curled up in the chair by the fire. Severus maintained his seat on the sofa.

"Now, what did you want to discuss?"

To his confusion, he pulled a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket. "This is my mom's letter to me. In it, she wanted me to give you a chance, which I have."

Severus' heart started pounding harder. Was Harry about to reject him? Was that why the boy was squirming so much? He made sure to keep his face neutral.

Harry glanced in the direction of the fire before looking back toward him. The boy then took a deep breath.

Severus mentally prepared for the rejection, therefore he missed what Harry had actually said.

"What?" he asked.

"I was wondering if I could move down here," Harry had repeated hesitantly.

"Move down here?" asked Severus dubiously.

"Only if you want me too. I mean, if you only want me down here the four nights I spend, I understand. I'm trying not to be a bother or a hassle and I promise to be quiet and stay out of the way ..."

Severus held up his hand. He needed a minute to process what was being said, so he got up to fix himself a glass of firewhiskey. As he returned to his seat, he saw Harry watching him warily.

"Tell me the reason for your choice."

"Well, mom wanted us to get to know each other and living together will help with that. And uh ... well, I want too. I actually like spending time with you."

"Harry, you can spend time down here anytime. We talk then and we are getting to know each other."

"I know. I just ... I dunno. Maybe this was a stupid idea."

"Are there any other reasons?"

He watched Harry squirm a little but nod. He raised his eyebrow indicating for him to continue speaking.

"I look at Ron and Mr. Weasley and I want what they have. The way I see it, before Ron came to Hogwarts, they had eleven years together and I'm afraid that with Voldemort running rampant the way he is, either one of us might end up dead. I wanted each of us to have, well, good memories in case that happened."

Severus sat his glass down and stared into the fire. "I ... am not demonstrative about my feelings like Arthur is to his children, so if that's what you want, I'm afraid I'm unable to give it to you."

He saw Harry smirk out of the corner of his eyes. "If you started acting like Mr. Weasley, I'd take you to see Madam Pomphrey."

"If you want to make more positive memories, you don't have to move down here for that to happen."

"I know," came a resigned whisper.

"If you do move down here, you must know that I'm going to set rules and expect you to obey them."

"I know," he said again, "but I'd also like to sleep in the dorm occasionally. It'd give me a night with my friends and you a night to yourself. I know you like being alone."

Severus scrutinized Harry's expression. "Are you absolutely sure about this? Have you obtained your friends opinion on the matter?"

"I've talked to Ron."

He was surprised. "And he agreed?"

Harry shrugged. "He supported me."

"Go to the dorm tonight. Talk to Ms. Granger and Mr. Longbottom. Tomorrow, talk to Lupin. Then we'll revisit this discussion before your lesson."

"Who's teaching me?"

"I think Lupin is actually. But do you understand what I want you to do?"

"Yeah. But, sir, if you don't want me to move down here, I'll understand."

"I didn't say that. Go on up to your dorm. Fifth year curfew is in another hour."

He stood up and placed the letter he was holding on the table. "My mother's letter to me. I'll get it tomorrow. Good night, sir."

"Night, Potter."

He watched Harry leave his quarters then blindly grabbed his glass of firewhiskey and downed the whole thing as he warily eyed the letter.

He replayed the conversation over in his head. He paused about the fact that Harry didn't seem to believe he could protect him. He had wanted positive memories for the both of them, just in case.

He got up to refill his glass. True, he couldn't actually protect the boy from everything and there was always the fact that it could be himself that was killed.

Truthfully, he doubted he could deny Harry anything and if he was honest with himself, then he also wanted Harry to move down here. He enjoyed spending time with him, even when they were working on separate things.

After downing a third and then a fourth glass of alcohol, he realized he needed someone to talk to, which meant Albus.

He would do that in the morning, not now. No doubt if he went up there now, Albus would yell at him for some reason or another.

He quickly downed a fifth glass of firewhiskey then turned back to the letter. "No. I'll read it in the morning," he muttered to himself.

He abruptly headed to his bedroom. Maybe he'd be able to think clearer tomorrow.

Harry sighed as he slid down the wall. He grabbed a glass of water Dobby had provided and quickly drank it.

For the past four hours, Lupin had been teaching him how to use different types of defensive moves offensively. He had learned a ton and he could freely admit he would have never thought of over half of what he had learned.

"Are you okay, Harry?"

"Yeah. I'll be ready again in a minute."

"We're finished for the night. You have that review paper due for me in class tomorrow."

"It's mostly finished."

"So what did you and Severus decide regarding you moving in with him?"

"I tried to talk to him earlier but he was in a meeting with Dumbledore."

"I understand he told you to ask your friends their opinions on moving in with him. What did they say?"

"Neville automatically understood my reasoning ... I guess because if he had a chance to get to know his dad, he would."

Lupin handed him another glass of water, which he gratefully took.

"Hermione, also understood my reasoning. Her main concern would be that I wouldn't study as hard if I was out of her eyesight. I had to remind her that Snape yells at me if I get anything less than an 'E' on a paper. After that, she fully supported me. What about you?"

Lupin smiled at him. "If this is what you want, then I fully support you too."

"How mad would Sirius be?"

Lupin sighed. "Oh, he would be furious but only because he would want you to live with him. Don't base your decision on how he might or might not behave. He never got the full story. Base your decision on you."

"I'm afraid he doesn't want me to move down with him. I might have pushed him."

"Harry, he gave you the extra time to make sure this is what you want. If you agree to this, then even if you argue with each other, you can't just move back out."

"I know and this is what I want."

Lupin stood and ruffled his already messy hair. "All right. Go talk to him. I'll see you in the morning."

Harry stood and made his way to Snape's quarters. He had also told Susan about wanting to move. She had told him that she also supported him but they definitely had to be careful about being in by curfew.

He entered Snape's quarters and found the man gone. He shrugged slightly and headed to his room to finish his Defense review paper. He saw his mother's letter on his desk, but left it there until he could put it back in his trunk.

Thirty minutes later, Snape knocked on his bedroom door.

"Hi. Just finished my paper for Defense."

"Can I sit?"

Harry nodded and scooted over. He had been doing his homework on his bed instead of at his desk.

"Have you talked with everyone about moving down here?"

He nodded. "As long as this is something I want, they all support me."

Harry saw Snape look at him as if he was trying to dissect him. "And is this something you want?"

"Yes, but that doesn't matter. What do you want?"

Snape raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Do you want me to move down here?"

"I do and if it's what you really want, then I agree, but before you fully commit, you need to hear my rules."

Harry put his defense book and roll of parchment in the floor and turned more fully toward Snape. "Okay."

"Rule one, if you are hurt, you will not hide it from me, even if it's something as simple as a headache."

Harry frowned. "I'm used to taking care of myself and not complaining."

"I know but that needs to change. Rule two, you will be in by curfew unless you are with me, Albus, or an Order member training."

He was still annoyed with rule one but figured Snape wouldn't know everything and he suspected the curfew rule so he nodded.

"The next rule you already know but every time you get below an 'E' on a paper or exam, we will discuss why. Your punishment will depend on the outcome of our discussion."

Harry gulped. "Punishment?"

"We'll get to that in a moment."

He grimaced but nodded.

"Under no circumstances are you to flex your 'hero' complex," Snape said sternly.

"Huh?"

"You have an unhealthy need to save and protect everyone and it needs to stop."

Harry looked at Snape as if he was crazy. "Ok, first of all, if I'm in a position to help, then I will. I don't like it when people suffer. It's in my nature and I can't change who I am."

"I can't protect you if you run off on a whim to protect every person you perceive is in danger."

"Please," muttered Harry as he rolled his eyes. "I don't go off randomly."

Snape snorted in disagreement.

"Well," said Harry slowly. "I do sometimes, but always for a good reason." He crossed his arms in defiance.

"Let's compromise for now," Snape suggested. "Anytime you feel the need to save someone, come find me. If you can't, grab the nearest available adult."

Harry bit his tongue. There was no way he would agree to this rule. He would just have to take whatever punishment Snape wanted to give him so he gave a vague nod.

"If there are any questions, you just have to ask me. Don't be afraid of my answer."

"How will you punish me?" he asked.

"I will not hit you, so you need not have a fear of that. I will take away privileges, access to your friends, your free time - things like that. If I find that's not helping, I'll explore other avenue's."

He exhaled slowly and nodded.

"Very well. Go pack your things and be back by curfew. Have Dobby bring your trunk so you don't have to carry it through the hallways."

Harry stood up and after picking his book, parchment, quill, and a vial of ink off the floor, he placed them on his desk. He then headed for the door.

"You'll also be required to keep your room clean. You ... not Dobby," Snape added.

"I know. I'll be back in about an hour."

Snape nodded as he left the bedroom.

A/N: So, who thinks Harry's off his rocker if he believes his hospital visits will decrease if he moves in with Snape? bwahahaha

Anyway, this was originally two chapters, then I made it into one, then I re-worked it and it turned into three, then I finally got it back to one. I figured everyone would appreciate a long chapter since I went missing for two weeks.

I debated about having this chapter in the story now as opposed to later, and I decided to go ahead and do it now. Because Harry is correct. Right now, the top three people Voldy wants to kill is Harry, Dumbledore, and Snape. For all we know, in the next chapter Voldy manages to off everyone! (Well, I know ... but uh ... I can't tell you ... because well, that would be cheating! *nods sagely*)

As for Snape pondering about his Dark Mark being removed, well, let's just say that it's not as easy as saying "go away" in parseltongue. ;-)

Up next, Harry realizes how much freedom he actually had in the dorm room. Oh, and uh, there is an unplanned trip to Hogsmeade for Harry as well. I'm still in the process of typing it, but hopefully I'll have it up by Sunday.

Thanks to everyone for all the reviews. I can't believe I'm nearing the thousand review marker! *Sends lots of chocolates and pizza and tacos out to everyone!*

Oh, and I was asked if I was going back to naming my chapters. Yes. I'll try to get names up for them this week. :) Sometimes in my haste to post, I forget to do that. *hangs head in shame*

A/N Part 2: I loaded this last night around midnight but I didn't get a notice, nor did the chapter fully upload. I went to check on it this morning and it came up as 'missing'. So, let's try this again!