I do not own anything. I'm just translating. The characters belong to the great J.K. Rowling. The story belongs to the amazing Brigi. Her e-mail: tbwtpbe et hotmail .com

Please review! Thanks.

THE BOY WITH THE PIERCING BLUE EYES

Chapter 20 – Chloe

"It seems the adults have different type of fears than we…" Hermione mused while she and Harry made their way to the Great Hall. Everything was unusually quiet lately.

Two weeks have passed since the incident with the boggart and even though most students stopped talking about it, she and Harry couldn't forget what they saw. The girl had a suspicion that Harry knew why the creature took that shape just didn't want to tell her. Remaining silent was easier than talking about it, so she didn't press the matter.

"Monday again." Harry sighed. "Amazing how many lessons we missed…even Fencing…"

"You regret that the most, right?"

"I wish we had that today instead of Trelawney…" said the boy.

"Why don't you drop that stupid Divination? You're not going to gain anything from it!"

"Ah, I don't know…" Harry frowned. "Ever since I heard about the Prophecy… I think of Divination in a different way… I still do not pay attention though, but…"

"You are not going to that class to catch another REAL prophecy from that woman? I think you'll have to fail the subject a few times… then maybe you'll get lucky…"

Harry grinned.

They sat at their table where the other Gryffindors were already eating.

"Hermione" They heard Anthony Goldstein, the Ravenclaw prefect call. "Can you come over here for a moment? The caretaker gave us a few instructions… Where is Ron?" He frowned.

"He's playing chess with Seamus… I think. They'll come in a minute."

"Never mind. Come, look at it…"

Harry couldn't hear any more of the conversation, because they reached the other table so he started eating his breakfast. He was drinking pumpkin juice when Snape walked into the room. He was wearing a dark-green, beautifully embroidered vest with his hair long again. This was the first time Harry saw him walking around looking like that in front of others. Of course everyone became silent for a minute then started whispering at the tables. But the man showed no emotion while he sat down at his usual seat. Remus looked at him too but didn't dare say anything. The boy glanced at him compassionately but the Potions teacher seemed to be just looking without actually seeing anything.

"Harry." Seamus said. They finished playing chess with Ron.

"What?"

"Do you know what we heard from the Hufflepuffs Summer and Laura?" He pointed at the two students who sat closer to the teacher's table.

"They say that Snape got an owl about two weeks ago." Parvati whispered.

"Do you remember? He practically ran out of the room!"

"Probably the Ministry sent him another warning!" Dennis Creevey chuckled.

"And… Does anybody know what was in the envelope?"

"Laura said it was a big one… and thinks she saw two drawings."

"But whatever it was…" Colin bit into his pear. "… it made Snape very upset."

"So what you're saying is that someone is harassing Snape?" Lavender asked.

"Why didn't I think of it first!" Victoria Frobisher looked up. Neville's eyes lit up indicating that he was interested in the idea.

"Whoever it is deserves a Merlin price!" Dean drew the conclusion.

Harry wasn't really enthusiastic about all of this but tried to laugh with his friends.

"Owls!" The Hufflepuff Moon yelled.

"We'll see if he gets something!" Justin winked.

While everyone seemed to be busy with their packages, many of the students were watching Snape. The professor however didn't even look up from his breakfast. A brown owl landed in front of him with a big envelope. He recoiled when the letter fell into a plate full of bread. It was addressed to him so the man put down his spoon, wiped his mouth and opened the envelope.

"Look!" Luna said quietly form the other side of the table. "He received something again…"

"A big envelope again…" Padma whispered.

"I just know it's the…"

"POTTER!" Snape shouted.

The whole room shuddered. He clutched the envelope, stood from his seat and made his way towards the Gryffindor table.

"Harry!" His friends whispered.

"Don't tell me it was you!"

"It really was you who sent those…" Colin said enthusiastically.

As soon as the professor reached Harry the whole Great Hall became silent. The man dragged him from the table without saying a word, leaving the others stunned.

"Ouch! What…?"

"Shut up and walk!" Severus pushed him.

"But…!"

"I said SHUT UP!" The man shouted and pushed him towards the dungeons. They reached the teacher's room where Snape took a few envelopes from his table then pushed the boy out.

While they were walking on the corridors Harry realized that their destination the Headmaster's office was.

"Pastries!" The professor said the password and the statue let them up.

After knocking they entered the office and Harry couldn't figure out what was wrong with his teacher. He was so angry… he looked like a mad man. Sirius, who followed them with his two ghost companions, was angrier than ever, wanting to hit the man who hurt his godson.

"Ah, Severus!" Dumbledore looked up.

"Headmaster!" Snape tried to gather himself. "I-I have proof that this… student is harassing me in a disgusting way! With something that normal people wouldn't do to hurt others! This child is sick!"

"Severus, please…"

"I trusted you!" Snape shouted. "I thought you won't tell anyone! You attacked me! Several times! You broke into my memories but I turned a blind eye because I thought you were not like your damned father!"

"I… I didn't…" Harry stuttered. He feared that Snape would kill him right on the spot.

"Severus!" Dumbledore stood up.

"You're just as worthless and pathetic as him and your godfather! How… how dare you?"

He threw the drawings he received earlier and the new ones at the headmaster's table. One picture was about a fireplace with toys in front of it but the other was more terrible. A big burning house was on it even though it was hard to recognize. Harry took the parchments with trembling hands, looked at them then watched his teacher with frightened eyes.

The man caught his collar and pulled him closer.

"You are the only one who could have done this since no one else knows this much! And I know you have a very talented friend, Thomas, who can draw well! I guess he made these for you! He makes those photos so we don't notice how good he is at drawing! How many people did you tell this to? The whole school is laughing at Pro…?"

"Severus!" Dumbledore said. "Enough! Harry, give me those drawing!"

The Potions teacher still held the boy but he realized now what this was about. His confidence came back since he knew he was unjustly accused. The headmaster looked at the pictures then turned to Snape with a serious face.

"Where are these from?"

"Two came today, and the other two arrived a few weeks ago. An owl brought them."

"Do you know anything about the sender?"

"No message." Snape said but shot an angry glance at Harry.

"Alright." Dumbledore raised his wand. "Legilimens!"

Harry silently watched as the headmaster searched the mind of his teacher. When they finished Dumbledore's surprised eyes found the boy. Severus turned to him too. Harry paled visibly and swallowed. All the evidence was against him…

"Harry, please answer honestly. Did you send those letters to Professor Snape?"

"No!" Harry shook his head. "I would never do something like that!" So now Dumbledore was on Snape's side too.

"Don't lie, you little…" Severus started but the green eyes stopped him. He looked painfully at the oh-so-familiar face then turned away in bewilderment.

"I didn't do it… I could never make fun of something like that…" Harry whispered, gently grasping the man's robes. "And I swear I didn't tell anyone! It's really hard to keep it inside, but… I didn't tell anyone. If…" He sniffed and wiped his tears quickly which caught Snape's attention too. "…If you didn't trust me… why didn't you erase my memories?"

"Innocent until proven guilty." Dumbledore said somewhat relieved.

Severus watched the big green eyes, raised his still trembling hands and with his robes stroked the boy's face, wiping the tears.

"It-it's okay…" He said quietly. "It's okay…" He sighed when Harry came up to him and hugged him. "I'm sorry." He whispered with self-accusation in his voice then hugged the boy back while stroking his hair. "I'm sorry…"

"It'z ogay." Came the muffled voice. When he stepped back he wiped his nose and smiled a little.

James watched in horror as the bat hugged his son after all he said. If he could he'd curse him right there. Lily stepped closer to the table to look at the pictures.

"Who could have sent these?" Harry asked.

"The members of the Order who work at the school didn't. I didn't do it and I doubt Professor McGonagall would do something like this. Crouch is no longer alive and Moody never really believed the story, even though he was the one that caught you, Severus."

The man nodded in agreement.

"It's a shame that there are no seals on wizard letters…" Harry mused. "The Muggles always seal the envelopes so you can know where it was sent from…"

The two wizards looked at each other.

"The owl!" They said in unison.

"The owl?"

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair.

"The owls used in the post office are all marked. This signal contains the information of the owner. If we could catch the bird…"

"We'd know where it was sent from…" Snape finished.

"Maybe… with that calling charm you taught me this summer…"

"That won't work… all the owls would fly to me…"

"Um! I can gather the Seekers and try to catch it."

"Chasing an owl?" Snape frowned.

"It can't be more difficult than catching the Snitch!" Harry said in a better mood. "I can talk to Cho Chang and William Stebbins, but Malfoy is yours to talk to because I don't want to."

Severus looked at Dumbledore.

"I'm afraid we don't have any other choice…"

"Which day…"

"Both letters arrived on Monday…"

"So… next Monday?"

"Next Monday, Harry."

"Someone should talk to Mr. Filch to let us bring the brooms into the Great Hall…"

"Don't worry about that." The headmaster nodded. "And Harry. This is still a secret."

"It'll be hard to keep it a secret, sir… Everybody… everybody knows that someone is harassing Professor Snape… some Hufflepuffs saw how angry he became after the first letter arrived… I heard this today…"

"I hope nobody came up with a similar 'great' idea." Dumbledore sighed. "It would make it hard to find the real culprit. I don't think we can do anything else today. Harry, go to your class. And don't forget about Monday."

"Yes, sir…"

Both he and Snape left the headmaster's office and walked the corridors silently. The classes have started a long time ago so the school seemed empty. Harry sat down suddenly.

"What's wrong?"

"At least once… I'd like to miss Divination or History of Magic… Divination." He said while looking at his watch.

Severus stood before him and watched his bowed head. 'He's not looking into my eyes.' He thought. He sighed quietly, rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak.

"You don't have to apologize again." Harry surprised him. "I'm… not angry…"

The man sat in front of him relieved and looked into the green eyes making the boy startled. His dark irises sparkled while he was watching his student's face.

"I-I'm not angry, just… don't talk about my father like that…I… it's terrible to hear those things about him…"

"Please forgive me." Severus said. Harry smiled a little and nodded.

"Do you… have any idea where those drawings are from?"

"Of course I do, but that is impossible…"

"Aren't you hoping? Just a little?"

"I've learnt over the years that it's foolish to hope…"

"It might be… that…"

Snape shook his head.

"My son couldn't draw that time. He was too small."

"Isn't it possible… that he drew them later? Years later? That… he survived?"

"It's not good to hope… It must be one of the Death Eaters who were there… maybe they figured out who lived there and…"

"But why wait this long?"

No answer. Harry knew that his teacher was trying not to make illusions so he won't get hurt…

"I hope it's him." He said firmly. "I hope it's Lamerin."

Snape said nothing but smiled and wiped the boy's face.

"So?" The students of the Gryffindor tower asked when Harry stepped into the common room. "What happened?"

"I can stay." Harry said quietly. "They won't expel me…"

"That's not the question here! Was it you?"

"Did you really send those letters, Harry?"

"No! And the headmaster said no one is to harass the professor. Take it seriously because…" He stopped because most of them just smiled. "… because I'll get into trouble." He lied.

This got everyone's attention.

"What?"

"They're going to watch me to make sure I don't do anything…" He hated lying to his friends but he had to stop his classmates from doing something that would sabotage their plan. His friends became angry and threw the already made letters into the fire.

Harry grinned. Success! None of the Gryffindors will send any letters and it will make the Seekers job a little easier.

"Padma." He stepped to Parvati's Hufflepuff twin. "Would you take me to your common room? I have to talk to Cho…"

"What do you want from Cho? I thought you couldn't stand each other." Ron snorted.

"Nothing serious…"

"Sure, come on!" The girl winked.

Harry had never been to the Hufflepuff common room and didn't really know the way either.

"Eureka!" Said Padma and the big Merlin portrait let them in. Walking through a little corridor they arrived in a tastefully decorated room. The students were surprised to see a Gryffindor in their house.

"Hi Luna!" Harry greeted the girl who was sitting in a chair.

"Oh… Harry. What are you doing here?"

"I… came to… see Cho…"

"Ah, I see…"

"I'll go up and send her down." Padma suggested.

"Thanks."

Cho Chang poked out her head in surprise.

"Harry? Padma told me that you're looking for me…"

"Yes… Can we talk? In private?"

"Sure." The girl blushed. "Come… let's go…"

They stepped out into the corridor and Cho was looking forward to Harry holding her hand or come a little closer, but nothing like that happened. Instead:

"Do you know where the Ravenclaw common room is?"

"Uh…" The girl said feeling a little disappointed. "Y-yes, sure."

Of course you know because Cedric was from Ravenclaw, Harry thought. Luckily they ran into a prefect.

"Hannah! Good to see you!" Harry greeted her. "Can you send your Seeker out?"

The girl nodded and Stebbins came out a few minutes later.

"Harry, what's this all about?" Cho asked a little offended.

"I'll tell you everything, just come with me!"

"His son?" Remus almost dropped his cup. "Severus has a son?"

"We were there and heard it clearly." Sirius was pacing the room.

"I… didn't know… I never knew he has a family…" James muttered.

"I'm not sure he 'has'…" Lily said. "They might not… be alive anymore… That would explain why he became that angry…"

"Still… my goodness!" Lupin sighed. "It's unbelievable…"

"And Harry knows about this!" Sirius exclaimed. "And he was stroking his face and hugging him! After he said those things about James and me! Like nothing happened! Harry was crying and still… he was not angry with him."

"Unbelievable…" Remus stared into nothing. He thought back to the moments he spent in the company of Severus this summer. Every word that seemed unimportant… things that sounded weird and foreign from an emotionless, lonely man… A lot of things became clear now…

"So that's it…" Harry finished. "We have to catch that owl next Monday. Malfoy will help too but the teachers will talk to him because I won't. The point is to keep the bird unharmed and give it to Professor Dumbledore.

"And why aren't they just using an 'Immobilus'? That would stop all the owls." Cho said a little angrily.

"That charm doesn't work on postal owls, Chang." Stebbins answered. "Everybody could steal the letters if it worked."

Harry looked at the girl silently then said.

"Cho, if you don't want to do this, tell me now, and we'll ask a few Chasers or something…"

"I didn't say I'm not helping." The girl said with determination in her eyes.

"I hope Malfoy won't think of this as an individual mission. " Stebbins sighed. "I don't want to have to deal with him too. And I hope you won't get in my way either." He added tauntingly. "Chang, you were not good last season… and Potter you missed out all the matches… I think you'll need a little time to get in shape again… well…see you next Monday." He waved and left them.

Harry and Cho were stunned for a while then the boy grimaced.

"What a pain in the ass!"

Cho burst out laughing and soon Harry joined her.

"Yes, he is."

Their eyes met for a brief moment then they both turned away in embarrassment.

"I think… we should go back too…"

"Finally! Fencing!" Harry said enthusiastically. The whole sixth grade was present. A lot of students were interested but they couldn't rearrange the great hall every time a group had a lesson. And the dressing and warming up took a lot of time too. So all the houses were present.

"Great, I can see that you're ready." Remus smiled at the girls. "Padma, Mandy, I want you to help the others with the warm-up. Do everything as I told you while I show Harry and Hermione the basics that we learnt last week."

"Ah, the boys are coming too!" Parvati laughed. "What took you so long, 'ladies'? We were ready long before you!"

"Very funny, Miss. Gryffindor!" Terry Boot frowned, a mischievous Ravenclaw boy. "I guess you didn't notice us watching you while you were changing. That's why we were late." He said with a satisfied grin.

The girls gapped and asked Remus to punish the boys.

"Oh, Susan, I'm sure they were just joking." The professor tried to calm them. "Come on, kids, let's start warming up so we have more time to learn new moves. This also applies to you, Mr. Malfoy!" He said after noticing the Slytherins dueling.

Harry was stunned when he saw how good Malfoy was with the sword. It became clear that he has been practicing for years and was much better than anyone but Remus didn't let him get out of the practice. The blond boy grimaced but obeyed and still had time to send a disdainful glance at Harry. A triumphant smile sat on his lips, enjoying that he was undoubtedly the best in this subject.

While Harry tried to imitate the gestures that Remus made, Hermione appeared to be struggling. She tried to do everything exactly the same and that made it harder to make any process. No matter how hard she concentrated, her perfectionism worked against her. The more complex the move became the more nervous she was which resulted in her making a lot of mistakes and almost falling a few times.

"What is it Granger? Does it bother you that you're almost as stupid here as you are at Divination?" Pansy Parkinson chuckled.

"Muggles don't have what it takes to do this…" Millicent sighed.

"Don't mind them, Hermione." The Hufflepuff Sarah Fawcett comforted her. "This is your first lesson. It's understandable that you don't know as much as they do…"

A few teachers were watching them from afar. McGonagall was proud when she saw the Gryffindor's Patil girl who seemed to be very skillful along with her twin sister. Nearly Headless Nick and the Bloody Baron was present too which also meant that Peeves stayed away. Mr. Fitch was standing with his cat in his arms watching the commotion too.

He heard rustling and saw the headmaster arriving. Dumbledore quickly looked at the students, mostly at Harry, then walked away smiling.

Rowena was standing where the teacher's table used to be. She sat on a table and smiled at Snape.

"They are good, right?"

The man sighed as a response.

"Did you not have to learn this?"

"My father didn't care about something like this." Severus looked up.

"It was not a tradition in my family either, though my father could do this when he was young. His sword is still hanging over the fireplace…"

Rowena was wearing tight Muggle jeans with a red top. Much of her breasts were showing and the strap of her bra flashed occasionally. The children of traditional wizard families didn't like the outfit but the Muggle-born students appreciated the change.

"Harry's really good, don't you think?"

"This is his first lesson. He's too stiff."

"But you know him. If he can't do it at first, he will practice a lot…"

Severus just sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"A lot has happened lately…"

"You're still sad about the Boggart?"

"I'm more concerned about the letters."

"You still don't hope?"

"I can't do that. I'm afraid the Death Eaters are behind this."

"Do you think they want to blackmail you?"

"I'm afraid that they have something to blackmail me with…"

"That they have your son? Or had?" Rowena paled.

"But why? Why wait this long?"

"Hopefully everything will become clear next Monday."

"What were you talking about with Cho?" Ron asked when they were walking the streets of Hogsmeade on a Sunday morning. He was holding hands with Hermione.

"Nothing special. But I could tell that she wanted me to hold her hand."

"You don't feel anything for her?" Hermione tried to ask.

"Oh, no. Nothing. It's so weird every time we meet because I was in love with her for two years… We also came to this café." He sighed.

"Uh… Harry…"

"The thing is…"

"We would like to go in… Ron and I…"

"Alone." Her boyfriend added.

Harry just blinked stupidly for a moment.

"Uh, sure, go ahead." He shrugged and went the other way.

Everybody had someone to hang out with. All his friends had a group or a partner to go out with. He was the only one alone and that made him really depressed.

"Harry." Someone tapped his right shoulder from behind.

He turned and couldn't see anyone.

"Hello!" Fred winked from his left side.

"Fred!"

"Hello!"

"George!" The other twin appeared. "What are you doing here?" Harry hugged them happily.

"We're taking a look at the competition." He pointed towards Zonko's Joke Shop.

"Competition? You were growing up with their things while you were studying here!"

"Actually, we wanted to present them with an offer. We have a few really good inventions that we'd like them to sell."

"I see…" Harry smiled. He was very happy to see the Weasley-twins again.

"And you? How come you're alone?"

"The love birds are spending time alone and I went my own way…" He sighed. "It's okay. At least I can buy something to Ginny in the Honneydukes. She's resting because she sprained her arm during training."

How's the new team?"

"They're good… it's just strange being with them. While I was playing with the old team it was completely different."

"You have to get used to them. Then everything will be all right."

"Yes, all right…"

Fred looked around.

"Are you looking for someone?"

"Yes."

"You know, we didn't come here alone."

"Oh… really?" Harry's eyes sparkled. "Don't tell me that you came with… girls?"

"With one girl!" George said.

"Look, she's there, in front of Zonko's." Fred pointed that way.

Harry found a tall, thin girl standing there with long ebony hair. She was wearing jeans and a top with robes covering her shoulders.

"Attractive…" Harry blinked. "Just… a little… how to say it… flat. You know what I mean, right?" He said nervously.

"Don't mind it." Fred waved.

"Which one of you is going out with her?"

"You know, Harry." George said mischievously. "We are good brothers and share everything with each other."

"What? You're… both…?" Harry pointed at them.

The twins nodded with a serious expression on their face. Harry thought something was up when they looked like that.

"Isn't this a little bizarre?"

"We don't mind."

"You know we were never normal in anything!"

"And what did she… say about that?"

"She enjoys it very much!"

Harry felt himself blush.

"I think you understand…" The twins winked.

"It's crazy…"

The girl nodded, smiled and started running towards them.

"It looks like…" She said. "They don't have vampire-fang-growers yet. You can sell them for a good price… Oh, hello." She noticed Harry.

"Chloe, he is Harry Potter. You know the one we talked about."

The girl held out her hand and looked at the boy seriously.

"Hi! Nice to meet you."

Harry became enchanted by the big sapphire-like blue eyes. She had such a nice face. A little athletic body but a really beautiful face.

"H-hello!" He managed to say.

"The boys really told me a lot about you. I really envy them because they got to go to school with you! Finally, we can meet!" She exclaimed. "Let's go and drink some butterbeer! Okay?" She was already running towards the Three Broomsticks.

"It's her first time in Hogsmeade…"

"Damn, this girl is really cute!" Harry grinned. "Don't you want to adopt me as your brother?"

They sat at a table and Madame Rosmerta brought them eight bottles of butterbeer which they drank up quickly. Harry's opinion about the girl remained unchanged. She seemed funny and cheerful, just like the girl he could imagine with the twins. Her body wasn't really feminine but there was something attractive about her, though Harry couldn't explain what. Maybe those beautiful eyes, he thought…

"And Harry, they tried that vampire-fang-grower out on me." She laughed. "Can you imagine how scared I was that they going to ruin my teeth?"

"How does it work?"

"Here, it looks like this." Fred gave him a simple, white, soft candy.

"It doesn't matter if you chew or not. The effect is the same."

"After you finished, you'll feel tingling in your teeth. It's like you flushed the toilet in them, I think."

"Uh…"

"And your teeth grow out."

"We're working on the extended version…"

"That would make the fangs look bloody too…"

"That'd look brutal!"

"That would scare anyone!"

"You're horrible!" Harry grinned. "The last candy you gave me made my tongue come out of my nose!"

"Oh, that!"

"That's a very interesting invention…"

"Some nice memories…" George winked.

Madame Rosmerta brought more butterbeer.

"We didn't bring any presents now…"

"It's okay. We eat so much candy… we'll get bored of them in the end. I just want to buy something to Ginny. It's a shame she had to stay there all alone…"

"So tell me, Harry." Fred elbowed him. "What's happening between you and Ginny?"

"Come one guys, don't start or I'll get mad! Ron's always pestering me about this! There's nothing between us, we're just friends."

He told them everything, every misunderstanding. The twins couldn't stop laughing Chloe however listened quietly. Harry blushed every time he felt the girl looking at him.

"…even though they were just trying to get a snake out from under the bookcase. How could I think of something like that?" He rolled his eyes.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't be in your shoes." George said.

The door of the Three Broomstick opened and a group of Slytherins came in with Draco and Pansy.

"Look!" The boy said loudly. "Two weasels! What are you doing here? I thought you flew out of Hogwarts already!"

"Flew out, that's good!" Goyle laughed.

Chloe clenched her hands.

"Don't!" Fred whispered and squeezed her hands.

"Let's just go!" George suggested. "I don't want to be anywhere near them."

"How dare you, you filthy…"

"Filthy what? You want to call me a Mudblood? You, pathetic Death Eater's son? Get out of my sight!" Fred said in disgust.

In the meantime Harry paid and bought a bottle of butterbeer to Ginny.

"Potter, this company suits you!" Malfoy shouted but they couldn't really hear it after the door closed behind them.

"The little cockroach is still here?" George fumed.

"Unfortunately… Don't mind him. Don't let him ruin the day. Let's go to Zonko's to negotiate."

The shop was filled with students, and while the twins talked with the owner, Harry bought some sweets to Ginny with Chloe's help. After that they separated and everyone went home.

Next: chaos… Potions…

See you next Sunday (hopefully)

R&R

Hermina