:D

"I am very much aware of Nott's situation." Snape told Harry.

They were in Snape's office, a hot meal brought before them since they were missing dinner in the Great Hall for this conversation. Harry had already told the Professor all about what had happened in the corridor (though he did leave out that he'd ratted out Snape to a possibly faithful servant of Voldemort), not knowing what else to do with the information. As much as he had wanted to keep Theo's secrets, he had found it was too much for him to bare alone. Sharing with his Head of House seemed like the only logical solution. Naturally, Snape had already known, but how he had found out was a surprise to Harry.

"Nott shared this same story with me in his third year." Snape informed the boy. "The same day he became friends with you, a fact he shared with me a few days later. You are not the only one who thinks I wish for them to confide their fears and misgivings with."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Some of us don't have any other fatherly figures, sir."

Snape made a face at this statement as if the idea of him taking a fatherly role was the most perverse and disturbing thing he'd heard in all his life. He quickly moved on. "Still, this does not mean he is not using it as a ploy."

"But you just said that he told you the story before becoming friends with me." Harry pointed out.

"That does not mean he isn't using it as a ploy." Snape continued impatiently. "He can use your pity to..."

"You're as mistrusting as Moody." Harry grumbled.

"I have every right to be." Snape snarled nastily. "And unlike you, Potter, I know what Nott is capable of. He's a notorious liar and incredibly difficult to read. He reminds me much of both myself and another from Slytherin whom attended the year beneath me and both of us became devout followers of the Dark Lord. Worse, he may be even smarter than myself and even more likely to pick up small details that I would miss. His wary nature stems from his constant danger as a child. He had to learn to read situations in order to figure out when to run."

"When to run?" Harry set down the goblet he had been drinking from very quickly.

"He didn't tell you?" Snape flicked up a brow, seeming mildly alarmed, which meant it greatly shocked him.

"Tell me what?"

Snape poured himself a glass of something and Harry highly doubted it was pumpkin juice. "Nott Sr. did not simply stop at suffocating his wife using his son's hands. After the deed was done, he went after his son, who fled into the cemetery where the family's young Burok, Nuckel, defended him from his outraged father. The beast, I hear, gained a burn upon his hindquarters from Nott Sr.'s wand. Since then the young Nott has been wary of his father, learning when to run into the cemetery and when it was safe to stay in his room. Regardless of these feelings, he still looks up to his father for approval."

"I always was under the impression he doesn't like his father." Harry told Snape, but the man shook his head.

"I disliked my father and never once thought to seek his approval." Snape argued. "Nott still looks for it as he believes he might be able to change his father's mind and atone for not being what his father had expected and wanted."

Harry didn't know how to reply, partially shocked by his Professor mentioning his own father and partially because he couldn't think of anything to say in Theodore's defense. They had been friends for...going on two years, but Harry still hardly knew anything about his friend.

"Slytherins are wishy-washy, aren't they?" Harry muttered after a prolonged silence.

"Don't insult your House." Snape snarled defensively. "And I doubt Nott is "wishy-washy". I'm sure he only ever says what he means or has to."

"Last year he agreed to date me..."

"I don't want to hear about your romantic drama."

"But this year he said he didn't want to."

Snape waved his hand dismissively and with irritation. "A ploy? Or his feelings changed. I don't know."

"For being such a people-reader, you sure don't know much about romantic things." Harry had to use all the restraint he had to not smile.

The Potions Master scowled. "Don't talk about things you don't understand."

"I keep getting told that." Harry tried to feign innocence. "But you know I'll never understand unless someone talks to me about them."

"You have a long way to go before you can trick or convince me to release private information." Snape gave Harry a warning glare to drop the topic and Harry consented without any further attempts. "As for what you should do about Nott...if you truly trust him...than it is your choice. I advise against it...and I'm sure Dumbledore would feel the same."

"If I don't have Nott, I have no friends." Harry stared down at his barely picked at food. "And...I don't think I can go this year alone."

"The Dark Lord is counting on that." Snape mumbled. "He wants you to feel as if you are in this alone. He wants you to feel isolated, so that any extension of friendship will look all the more inviting...if not that than perhaps your loneliness will weaken your will and make you all the easier to defeat."

None of these words were comforting and the conversation did not help Harry with an answer.

"You missed my class, Mr. Potter." Umbridge spoke in a honey-sweet voice.

"I'm really sorry." Harry mumbled, recalling the tail end of his conversation with Professor Snape. The man had told him to not argue with Umbridge no matter how much she pressed him as she would only make his stay here at Hogwarts more unbearable. "Stuff came up."

"Stuff came up?" She repeated, her voice even sweeter. "Stuff that was more important than your Defense Against the Dark Arts class?"

"It's just theory." Harry shrugged at her and added, "It's not all that important."

She raised her head, her lips twitching. "The Ministry believes it's important."

"Oh?" He feigned ignorance. "I was...well, I'm sorry, Professor. If it is important to the Ministry than it is definitely important to me as well."

He was sure she didn't catch the hints of sarcasm as she gave a sick smile and handed him his assignments (which he knew where twice as much as what she had really given) without further word. With a kind nod, he excused himself and headed out towards the Common Room, but changed his mind and slipped off into his favorite abandoned classroom...only to find Theodore there.

Theo's eyes were slightly red as if he'd been crying, but there were no tears now and he gave Harry a tiny twitch of a smile. "Get homework from Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Yeah." Harry took a seat at a desk. "She gave me extra."

"Same."

"No one believes me." Harry mumbled, looking at Theodore worriedly. "About You-Know-Who and all...I hear them in the halls and behind my backs..."

"I assure you a good number of the Slytherins do." Theo stated, shaking his head lightly so more strands of hair fell before his eyes as if he was using them as a way to hide from Harry. "The others...well, it takes time. Have had all summer to hear the Ministry's point of view, which has been very convincing."

"It's going to get worse." Harry told the other. "I understand if you don't want to be my friend for it."

"Thought you didn't want to be mine." Theo's silky voice was coy, but also dangerously low. "After all, could just be playing you."

"Come off it." Harry snapped, irritation quick to his voice. "You know I'm just...it was Snape...he got me worried and..."

"Scared?"

Harry flinched. "No..."

Theo snorted, "Don't mind being friends with you, Harry. Just don't want to be mixed into your angst and drama."

"Yeah..." Harry opened up his various books. "I guess I see where you're coming from. I'm...trying, you know...to be better. I didn't tell Umbridge off."

"Good." Theo gave an approving look. "Now, you just need to not miss another class."

"Did she pick on you for missing it?" Harry asked, eyes worried.

Theo shrugged. "No more or less than she used to."

"I guess...that's good."

Their conversation deteriorated after that and didn't really pick up until several days later.

Hope you like. Review if you want.