Fallen Angel

A/N: This chapter is primarily going to be a talk between Severus and Harry. A long talk that has been a long time coming. Reviews would be lovely. :)

Harry sat in the common room on his own one Saturday night. Everybody else had gone to bed, but four hours ago, he had received a letter. An owl had flown through the window of the common room and landed on the window sill, shaking the April rain out of her feathers. She had surveyed the room, spotted her intended recipient and flew over to him, dropping the letter in her beak. Unfortunately for Harry, the bird had dropped the letter on top of a chess game he and Ron had been in the middle of playing, disrupting all the pieces. Harry had taken the letter, but before he could reward the bird she had flown away. He had opened the letter and been surprised to see it from Remus:

Dear Harry,

I apologise for taking so long, but what you asked of me, as you know, is not the easiest thing for me to instantly agree to as most others have. You'll probably find you are receiving this letter a few days after it was sent. I know that the Ministry is checking all mail now, so I asked the bird to take her time and to take as wide a route as possible so she would not be intercepted.

As you know, being close to both your mother and father has meant that this has not been easy for me. James was my best friend, and Lily was the first person to know me for what I really am, but despite this, she stood by me. I felt as though, had I instantly agreed to you, I would have been disrespecting their memories, and I did not want to do that, nor appear to you to be a hypocrite when I had told you in third year to not disrespect them either.

I digress. To the matter at hand. I thought about it from your point of view, and I must agree with you Harry. I don't know what you did, but when Hermione released the bonds on our magic, a Fidellius charm that had been placed on me lifted, and I can now tell you about it. Harry, I believe you. I overheard Dumbledore, fifteen years ago, talking to Minerva. Minerva argued with him about leaving you with your relatives when you had just become not just a celebrity, but a target, and Dumbledore told her something. Dumbledore knew of the way you relatives were, and their belief towards magic. He knew you were in danger but did nothing about it. I'm sorry Harry. This is why I believe you, and this is why I am inclined to agree. Do not respond, just know that when you are ready, I will take it. You know what 'it' is.

Harry, your parents would be proud of you for continuing with their work to make the world a better place. They unfortunately were doing as Dumbledore told them, but you are not. They would be proud, as would Sirius. As am I. Though I would suggest one thing to you. Talk to Severus. His loyalties do not lie with either Voldemort, or Dumbledore, but with your mother, and because of that, with you. Speak to him. Sort out your differences. He may be the best one on your side, the most valuable.

We are all missing you all, and hope you are doing well with your studies.

Remus

Harry had shown the letter to Hermione and Ron and they had both smiled at it. They had both also agreed that Harry should speak to his Potions Professor. So, within half an hour, Harry had wrote a quick note to Severus, asking for the older man to come to the common room at midnight. Fortunately for Harry, it was midnight now. On cue, as if summoned by Harry's thoughts alone, the man walked through the door to the common room. He stalked over to the teen.

"What is the meaning of this Potter?"

"Severus. Sit, please." The older man did, and once he had, Harry silently handed over the letter.

Taking the letter, Severus read it with careful precision. As he finished, he sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"All of it. From the start."

Severus nodded. "Don't think badly of me. I grew up in a place called Spinner's End. My parents were Tobias Snape, a muggle, and Eileen Prince, a witch…" He purposefully paused in his speech to allow the other boy time to understand what he just said.

"Wait…Prince? And you're a half-blood. Combine that with the Potions skills…you're the Half-Blood Prince?"

"Yes Potter, I am. I grew up in Spinner's End at one end of the street. At the other end, lived the Evans'. I had seen Lily Evans over the years perform spectacular magic with such control, but I knew her family were muggles, so I introduced myself to her when we were both nine. I explained to her what we were, and she accepted it. Her sister, Petunia, did not. Petunia and I shared a rivalry over the years they lived there. We never quite saw eye to eye as we were both trying protect your mother; Petunia because Lily was her younger sister and she was protective, and from the 'freaky boy Snape'. I was protecting her from the muggles who didn't appreciate her for who she was. Petunia being one of them."

"She's always been a heartless cow then?" Harry asked, trying to add a bit of light humour.

Severus smiled the smallest of smiles. "Yes. And she's always been very jealous. She was always jealous of the kids in her street who had better things than she did. But anyway, I digress. Your mother was a brilliant girl. Bright. Funny. I loved her. Yes Potter, I did." He added at the shocked look on the boy's face. "She was the first friend I ever had. She stood up for me against the bullies in the street, and against her own sister. We got our Hogwarts letters and started in 1971. We rode together on the train the whole way there. As we were waiting to be sorted, I had a moment with another boy. He was a pureblood, and to my eyes, snobbish. His name was James Potter, and even at eleven years of age, he acted as if he ran the school. He took an immediate dislike to me, without even hearing anything I had to say."

"That sounds familiar…" Harry mused.

"You and Draco, indeed. Potter, Black, Lupin and Wormtail always stuck together. Potter and Black were the popular ones, Lupin was the book worm, and Pettigrew was the odd one out. A bit like you, Granger and Weasley. Potter and Black were also two of the school bullies. When they got sorted into Gryffindor, Lily got sorted into Gryffindor, and I got sorted into Slytherin, their bullying got worse. They had prejudices that were deep ingrained into them, and by this point, the Dark Lord was already making a name for himself as a dark wizard. To quote Weasley when he first arrived; 'There isn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin'. That was the belief your father and his posse had. Lily though, she was different. She saw the light in me, in everybody, and got into numerous fights with your father because of it…" Severus trailed off as he stared into the distance.

"Then what happened?" Harry asked gently.

Severus sighed and refocused. "I started mixing with the wrong crowd- Mulciber, Avery- and your mother didn't like it. But she still remained my friend. Then, one day in our sixth year, Potter used one of my spells against me. Levicorpus, as you saw. He flipped me in the air like you saw, and I lost my dignity. My pride. He embarrassed me beyond compare. Lily jumped in to help me and once again argued with Potter, but that only made things worse. Imagine what was going through my head at the time. She didn't accept my friends, when I, at the time, saw no fault in them. I feared she was siding more with Potter, especially after his numerous attempts to get her to date him. Then I saw her arguing with him in what I believed to be a lover's spat. I saw red, and it was a complete misunderstanding. I called her a mudblood, something she never forgave me for, and something I never forgave myself for. That only widened the gap between us. I lost her through my own fault. I sorted it out a bit with your father though. I had noticed that Lupin kept disappearing once a month so one night, I followed him to the Shrieking Shack. I had overheard Black talking about how to get in. Had it not been for your father finding out and stopping me, Lupin may have possibly killed me. Of course, when he first stopped me, I was angry, but then I heard the howl and the pained look in your father's eyes, and I knew he was serious. I thanked him for it, and some of the animosity disappeared. But then, Lily ended up marrying Potter, and I hated and resented him once again for it."

"So you and my Dad actually tried to make up for all the hate?"

"Yes. But jealousy got in the way because of the fact that he had nabbed my friend. I knew her best, I had known her longest. I loved her. But she loved him. I was jealous and angry at both of them for it. Childish. A couple of years later, I overheard Sybil Trelawney's prophecy, but I only heard the first half of it. I heard the date, and the parents, and ran straight away to the Dark Lord and told him. He immediately took it upon himself to mean you, and I realised what I had done, I went to Dumbledore. Back then, he was still sane. He promised me safety from the Dark Lord, and a job, if I acted as a spy for him against Him. I agreed, on the promise that he would keep you and your parents safe. He did. He hid them in the safe house in Godric's Hollow where they lived at the time. He put undetectable charms on the house and made it impossible to find without exact instructions from the Secret Keepers, which was to be him and one other. He told Wormtail the exact location, and Wormtail told the Dark Lord. This, Potter, is where you are wrong in your assumptions of Albus Dumbledore. Your parents' death, and Wormtail's betrayal, was not Dumbledore's fault. It was agreed between Dumbledore, your parents, Black, Lupin and Wormtail that Wormtail would be the other Secret Keeper, but the rest of them would make believe it was actually Black, your father's best friend. It was Black's idea, actually. He was willing to sacrifice himself to protect his friends if he had to. Wormtail, off his own back, went to the Dark Lord. It is true that Dumbledore knew and still knows of the abuse you receive at the hands of your relatives and does nothing about it, but he did not cause your parents' death."

"It makes no difference if he did or didn't Severus. He still knows what I go through, what I have always gone through, and he will never change. Thank you for telling me all that."

"I trust you not to tell anybody about my history Potter."

"Of course not. Remus said in his letter that your loyalties lie with my mother, still."

Severus nodded. "Yes, he's right. My loyalties will never change." He waved his wand and cast a silent spell. Harry watched as a doe formed and gracefully turned her head to look at him. Slowly, she disappeared once more.

"You still love her?"

"Of course. When she was killed, I promised myself to keep an eye on you and make sure you never came to any harm. You may not think it, but I have been watching you since you started here. I could just never show it because you need to discover for yourself your own path. And anyway, Dumbledore made me make an Unbreakable Vow to never inform you until the time was right. But then I saw you, and you were an almost doppelgänger of your father, and old feelings settled in. This year however has proven to me just how much more like your mother you are. Headstrong. Not afraid to stand up for what's right. I see more of her in you than I used to. Through her, my loyalties also lie with you, Harry."

Harry was stunned at the use of his first name, but still continued on regardless. "Thank you Severus. I appreciate it." There was a pause. "Severus, I'm worried. Am I doing the right thing, siding with Tom and then double crossing him?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… the whole point of this is to protect people and fight for equality. I never wanted to kill anyone innocent. Never. Yet, by being on Voldemort's side, I am. Is it really worth it?

"If you believe in it, then yes, you are. You do what you think is right Harry, and have faith in yourself, your decisions and your ability. You're more than capable. I will however say this. You're playing a dangerous game, a very dangerous game. Double-crossing both the head of the light and the head of the dark, who could both kill you, is always going to be risky. But yes, it is worth it. Sometimes, innocents have to die. This is war Harry. But in the end, it will always be worth it, especially if the deaths of a few saves the deaths of thousands. "

"Thank you. That's just made me feel a lot clearer."

"Good. Is there anything else, or may I go to sleep now?" Severus asked with a smirk.

Harry gave an answering smirk. "No that's everything. You can go and get your beauty sleep now. Merlin knows you need it."

Severus' smirk grew to a grin. "10 points from Gryffindor for cheek. Goodnight Harry." He stood and made his way to the portrait entrance.

"Goodnight Severus." Harry replied as he watched his Potions Professor's retreating form and heard the grumble of the Fat Lady at being woken up at such a late hour. Once the portrait swung shut, Harry retreated up to his own dorm and started to undress for bed. The talk with Severus had helped to ease his conscience on what he was doing and had helped to take a lot of weight off his shoulders. Stepping into the confines of his bed, he closed the curtains, took of his glasses and turned to get in bed, smiling at the sight in front of him. Draco had decided to stay in Gryffindor tonight, and was currently fast asleep on the far side of the bed, facing the centre, curled up in a tight ball. Harry silently climbed in and pulled the sleeping blond into his arms, before drifting off into his own sleep, his mind now at peace.

xxxxx