"I know I'm whining, but it really isn't fair at all," Harry pouted as Healer Morris cast his usual diagnostic charms trying to figure out what was going on with his patient's body and what was actually normal for the creature. They hadn't yet gotten to a place where the healer could confidently say that this was what was called healthy for whatever creature Harry was.

"Hmm…" the healer hummed distractedly. "And you said it had absolutely no effect at all?"

"None," the teen huffed. "I haven't even had sex with anyone yet, and I have a baby, who I love by the way, no complaints there, but still…and now I can't even get drunk. Some sick deity is seriously messing with me."

"I'm going to need to change your nutrition potions to a different formula…" the healer nodded and began to make some notes on a piece of parchment. "Yes…I may need Mr. Snape to brew these actually…they are a complex brew that doesn't have a long shelf-life."

Harry sighed deeply in frustration. "How did we get to nutrition potions from not being able to get blackout drunk?"

The elderly man removed his wire-rimmed spectacles and gave Harry a chiding look, making him feel much younger than his eighteen years. "First of all, you shouldn't be aiming for blackout drunk anyway in my expert opinion even if you are an immortal phoenix-type creature. Second, it seems that your body is going to naturally run hotter than a human's, and your blood is actually slightly acidic which is rendering your current nutrition potion mostly ineffective, like the alcohol you drank."

"Oh…er, which side do you think the acidic blood is coming from?" He paused, not thinking either creature had acidic blood from his research.

"I doubt either," the healer sat down and frowned in consideration. "You are a combination of a warm-blooded creature and a cold-blooded creature. I think this is part of the equilibrium your body has taken on to balance how you regulate your temperature. I take it you've been having a hard time staying warm?"

Harry snorted. That was an understatement. "I've been sitting in front of the fire most days and layering like I'm trying to wear my entire wardrobe at once. I really don't know how I'm going to survive winter in Scotland."

Healer Morris nodded and made another note on his parchment. "I think it will get easier over time since your body is still healing from all the trauma it has been through. I suggest warming charms for now on your clothes like you have on the bag, and putting on a little more weight too, which the new nutrition potion should help with."

Harry nodded and took the egg out of his bag, casting an extra warming charm over it. "You don't think Little Bit is cold, do you?" He asked the healer with a concerned look over the egg.

The older man looked at the remarkable teen in front of him and couldn't help a kind smile. "I think Little Bit is probably very warm and happy in their egg. I wish I could tell you more about their development, but that shell is mostly impervious to any diagnostic charm I cast. I can only tell you that Little Bit seems to be growing some and does not seem to be in any distress."

"Thank you, sir," Harry smiled thankfully at the man and put the egg back into his bag.

"Now, I can't help with the alcohol situation, nor am I very motivated to try, but as for not having sex…you know you can look around and find someone you think is attractive and go talk to them, see where it goes," the healer chuckled at the shocked look the young man gave him. "I may be older than you, but I'm not a prude."

"Er…well…things are a little different now," Harry awkwardly motioned to the egg. "I'm not the only one to take into account. Plus, I might have some feelings…probably a bad idea and definitely not returned, but yeah. I might kind-of like a person a little anyway."

"Uh huh…" the healer gave Harry a knowing smile before folding the piece of parchment he'd been writing on. "So, when I hand this prescription over to Mr. Snape and ask if he will brew it for you, you think he'll feel inconvenienced and ask if someone else could do it instead?"

"Erm…"

"You know he's been asking every appointment if the brewers here at the hospital are competent enough and if he could check over your potions, or even brew them instead," the healer cut him off with a raise of his eyebrow. "I don't think those feelings are quite as unrequited as you seem to believe."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. Healer Morris must be mistaken was his best guess. Snape just felt protective since Harry gave him a place to stay. It was too much to hope for that the vampire might return his feelings, and even if he did, Snape definitely wouldn't want the instant family that came along with being with Harry. No, it was too much to even hope for…

"Oh, well…if he doesn't want to brew it, just let me know," Harry cleared his throat and picked up his bag, missing the exasperated eyeroll the healer gave him. "I can find someone else if I need to."

"I will," the healer stood and picked up a book from the table behind him. "Take this before you leave. I ran across it in the bookstore and thought you would find it useful."

Harry frowned at the book in his hand. "Breaking the Cycle: Raising a Family When One Parent was a Child of Abuse…Healer Morris…?"

"Look…Harry," the man cut him off before he could even begin to protest. "I know we haven't talked about your homelife growing up, but from what you have told me, and from how long-term your malnutrition has clearly been, I know you need this book."

Harry frowned and opened his mouth to protest. He glanced down at the bag and closed it though. Harry found that he couldn't in all honesty say that he hadn't grown up in an abusive home while looking down at his child and knowing that he would murder anyone who treated his baby the way he had been growing up. Instead, he gave his healer a little nod and slid the book into the bag with his egg.

"Thank you," he said, not meeting the other man's eyes.

"I'm going to keep an eye out for a mind-healer for you," the healer continued cautiously, trying not to push the teen too far and have him shut him out instead of listening. "I know for you in particular it is a great danger right now to trust just anyone, but someone exists, and I'm going to find that person that you can sit with and actually trust. Someone that can help you process everything that happened."

Harry nodded again and held back the tears that were threatening behind his eyes. "I think I would like that…"

"I will see you in a couple weeks. I want to hear all about your return to Hogwarts," Healer Morris gave him a kind smile and a pat on the hand, the most touch Harry would comfortably allow at the moment.

Harry stood with a wry grin. "As long as no one touches Little Bit, I think we'll be fine. I'm more worried about Snape trying to maintain his glamour. I guess we'll figure it out though. It has to be better than him slowly poisoning himself at least."

Harry couldn't help the goofy grin on his face when Ron and Hermione sat in front of him in their train compartment on the way back to Hogwarts for their last year. "Hey, 'Mione. I missed you," he said softly to his friend who looked like she was superhumanly holding herself back from hugging the life out of him.

"Good job getting here early and claiming a compartment," Ron huffed in frustration at the crowd they had pushed through to get on the train. "It's a bloody madhouse out there, and I can guarantee most of them are looking for you."

Harry grimaced at that. "Er…Hermione, would you…? I'd like to see some of the others, but maybe just the three of us for now…"

"Oh yes, definitely," Hermione nodded and stood to cast all the excessive amounts of wards they had perfected throughout their time on the run at the compartment door.

"There, if it can keep out snatchers, it can keep out your rabid fans," she joked with a grin. "How have you been this summer? Ron says that Percy and Fawkes moved in, and that Snape stayed…how did that go? I can imagine it was at least interesting."

"Well…" Harry knew that telling them on the train to Hogwarts was a terrible place and time, but he was absolutely ready to just get it the hell over with. Ron and Hermione were his family and he wanted them to know more than anyone else. He just really hoped they would be able to understand. "Erm…so there are some things I need to tell you, and I know this isn't the best place, but I can't keep holding it in any longer…"

"You know you can tell us anything," Hermione looked in concern at her friend, then frowned over to Ron. "Right?" She glared at him to answer in the affirmative.

Ron rolled his eyes and pouted. "I learned my lesson, 'Mione. No repeat of the Triwizard disaster again, ever."

"Well…it's kind of like four things I really need to tell you now anyway, I guess," Harry nervously chuckled at them. "I already told Ron one…"

"You owe me a galleon," Ron held out a hand in front of Hermione and gave her a wide grin. "Pay up, loser!"

"Emotional range of a teaspoon, Ron," she rolled her eyes but handed over a galleon. "You sure you're not completely gay and in a complicated relationship with Malfoy that you need to tell us about?" She asked Harry with a raise of her eyebrow.

"What?!" Harry sputtered. "That's what you guessed?! No one actually thought I was straight?!"

"Er…no, mate. Remember Cho? And you and Ginny were so hot and cold," Ron grimaced. "You really seemed to be in it, so that's why I was sure you were bi, but no one is going to guess you were completely straight. Besides, I saw you check out Sirius a time or two…that was a bit awkward, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Harry grimaced too at his very confused feeling about his late godfather. "I'll save all those thoughts for when I get a mind-healer though. But Malfoy? Really, Hermione…he's way too high maintenance for me, and I think I'd lose a hand if I dared to touch his hair."

She just shrugged and smirked at him. "Sometimes opposites attract."

"Er…on that note…erm, my second bit of news…" Harry gave Ron an apologetic look. "Nothing is going to happen at all, I promise, but you guys always seem to know what I'm feeling before I do, and I don't want there to be awkwardness later since I actually do know what I'm feeling first this time."

"Snape, right?" Hermione's smirk deepened as Ron coughed in surprise.

"What the bloody hell?!" The redhead gasped in between coughs. "What did he do?"

"What? Nothing!" Harry quickly stopped Ron and reached over to smack him on the back a couple times to stop the coughing. "It's just that I think I have a bit of a crush, or it's deeper than that actually…it's more I just really appreciate him…I'm not explaining this well…"

"I get it," Hermione spoke over Ron's protests. "This isn't an opposites attract situation though, you both actually have quite a lot in common, even if his personality is a bit lacking. I'll hold some of my opinions on that though until I see for myself how much of it all was an act and trying to maintain his position of spy."

"He's still a git," Harry laughed. "He's more human though now…some of the hard edges aren't as hard, if that explains anything."

"Only he isn't human, is he?" Ron scrubbed a hand over his face and grunted in resignation at his fate in being stuck with Snape for a while at least. "How is that going to work if he's an immortal vampire and you aren't? Wouldn't that be a little strange if you were older than him at some point?"

"Wait…what?" Hermione looked between them. "That rumor was true?"

"First of all, I didn't say anything about him liking me back," Harry steeled himself for the next bit of news he knew was coming soon about himself. "As I said before, nothing is going to happen, but since I'm living with him, I didn't want you two to get on my case if I actually wanted to spend some time with him. I like his company, and I kind of owe him a life debt, so I'm never going to completely cut him out of my life."

"Harry…that's not how life debts work," Ron gave him a little smile, catching on that his friend was more confused over this whole situation than anything actually having happened yet. "He may have saved your life, but you saved his during the battle. It washes out. Plus, you saved us all. That puts the rest of us in your debt more than anything else."

Harry frowned realizing he'd forgotten something. "Ok…so make it is five things I needed to tell you. Erm, we were attacked in Diagon Alley, but I think I need to back up and explain the second largest bit of news before I hit on the actual biggest and how that connects to what happened in Diagon."

"You were what?" Hermione blinked a couple times and tried to remain calm. "Why didn't we hear about this? We were in Australia not on another planet! You could owl or floo call."

Harry pulled his bag onto his lap and hugged it to his chest for comfort. "Well, I was never actually in any real danger, so that was part of it. So…second largest news…we're all in agreement that magical creatures aren't inherently evil, do not have to be dangerous, and there is nothing wrong with them, right?"

"You and Percy both can be dense sometimes," Ron huffed in exasperation. "Yes! Just because Mum, Dad, and Ginny are being complete bigots…"

"Wait, Ginny too?!" Harry winced strongly.

"You know we loved Remus and Hagrid…Flitwick is one of my favorite professors," Hermione cut in as if this should all have been obvious. "I didn't realize Ron's family's feelings, but it sounds like he didn't either…"

"Bloody hell, I didn't!" Ron seethed. "So, we got Percy and Snape now…are you trying to tell us you're a creature or something, because that'd just be your luck, and I swear I'm going to hex whoever has been spreading all this hate for creatures…"

"Yeah, Ron…that's exactly what I'm trying to tell you," Harry cut in with wide eyes, causing Ron to stop in mid-breath.

"Oh…" Ron breathed out in surprise.

"Yeah…oh," Harry echoed with a nod.

"Er…did Percy…or Snape maybe…?" Hermione started with a frown of confusion on her face. "How and when?"

"Please don't get mad…" he started in concern. "It was a bit of an inheritance…"

"Over a year?" Hermione's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah…I didn't want to think about it, and it didn't seem to matter at the time in the middle of the war and all," he explained quickly, panicking at what their reaction might be. "Dolohov, that was how I did what I did…"

"Oh," Hermione reached over and squeezed his hand. "Hey, I'm just sorry you've been carrying this around for so long. I'm not mad; I'm just sorry I wasn't there for you."

"Yeah, mate…we've been through too much together," Ron nodded, putting his hand on top of theirs in support. "We got you…whatever you are. Want to shine some light on what that is? Maybe a clue at least," he grinned teasingly at the end.

Harry finally let out his breath and his friends let go of his hand and leaned back. Harry put the hand on his bag protectively; they had gotten a bit close to it. With a chuckle, he smiled showing off his fangs. "Merlin!" Ron jumped then laughed. "Not a vampire? I don't know then; what else has fangs?"

"An incubus, chupacabra, aswang, alp, mara…"

"We get it, a lot," Ron cut off Hermione. "Just tell us, Harry, before we have to sit through an entire magical creatures lesson from her."

"And I wonder why you two didn't last," Harry grinned mischievously at them. "Too soon?" He asked at their glare.

"Yeah, mate…" Ron rolled his eyes.

"Well, on with it," Hermione prompted impatiently.

"Right, so remember second year?" He started. "Well, Hermione wouldn't being petrified and all, but I was bitten by the basilisk and then Fawkes cried on it…"

"Still have nightmares…" Ron shook his head at that.

"Yeah, me too, but well, it all stayed in my bloodstream," Harry explained. "When my magical maturity hit, the extra traits took hold. It seems I'm some kind of new creature that's a mix between basilisk and phoenix."

"You used a basilisk stare to kill Dolohov," Hermione put the pieces together with a satisfied nod at finally figuring out that mystery.

"Yeah, and I can also regenerate like a phoenix, so er, Voldemort did actually hit me with a killing curse in the battle," Harry reluctantly told them. "That's also why I wasn't actually in any danger when Snape and I were attacked in Diagon Alley several weeks ago."

"Merlin's balls…only you, Harry, would become a new creature no one had even heard of before," Ron shook his head, completely stunned at this new development. "Does anyone besides us know?"

Harry gave them both a grateful smile at how they were taking everything. "Yeah, Kreacher, Fawkes (who I can actually understand now), my healer, and Percy know. Percy kind of figured it out with my change of smell and what happened in the battle."

Hermione frowned. She didn't remember Percy being around Harry much in the battle besides when they found him and Fred dueling, but that was just when Fred was injured. She didn't know what Percy had seen. There was something nagging at the back of her mind though.

"Wait…" what he said earlier finally caught up to her. "You said that's the second largest bit of news! What the hell is bigger than you not being fully human anymore?!"

"Yeah, mate, I think your scale is a bit off there," Ron laughed.

"Yeah, no," Harry shook his head firmly. "This is bigger, much bigger…"

Hermione gasped in fear. "Voldemort isn't back, is he?!"

"No!" Harry exclaimed in surprise. "I meant bigger good, not bigger bad."

"Thank, Merlin!" Ron gasped out as Hermione also visibly sighed in relief. "Don't scare us like that, mate!"

"Yeah, well…how do you two feel about being godparents? I really don't think I could find anyone better," he chuckled slightly before unbuckling the straps of his bag.

"What…the….?" Ron's jaw dropped open as Hermione gave a little startled squeak when Harry pulled a large emerald egg out of the bag that he cradled lovingly in his arms.

"I'm calling it Little Bit for now since I'm not sure about gender or even species," he smiled softly at the egg before looking up at his friends. "It won't hatch until around next summer…but yeah…meet my baby…"

Harry's proclamation was met with silence from the other two in the compartment. "Yeah, so my hormones are still really crazy, and protective creature instincts and all, so I can't let anyone touch the egg or bag now, and I can't just put it down and leave it anywhere either, not that I'd want to. So, erm, I'll be carrying Little Bit around all year…please say something," he finally begged.

Hermione cleared her throat while Ron just stared at the egg still. "Oh, well…who…who's the mother? Father?"

Harry chuckled. "No one…well, besides me. Phoenixes reproduce asexually, and Fawkes thinks I pushed my creature changes along rapidly by my use of magic during the battle and by having a burning day. We aren't really sure if Little Bit is a phoenix, basilisk, or a creature like me."

"Wow, Harry," Hermione just shook her head in surprise. "That's…huge!"

"I know…I've had a while now to process, and it still catches me off guard," he chuckled before turning serious again. "And that's why I owe Snape so much. There was a rogue Death Eater in Diagon, and the killing curse was coming right at Little Bit, and he saved them! He doesn't know about the baby, but Snape spelled a sign in front of the curse to stop it…He's just…yeah, he saved my baby!"

"Woah, that's intense," Hermione breathed out. "I get it, Harry…Merlin! That had to be so scary. What happened to the Death Eater?"

Harry grimaced again. "Yeah…remember Dolohov…"

"Ah…" she nodded firmly. "Well, he almost killed my god-baby. He deserved worse. I never would have guessed you'd be the first parent amongst us though, but yeah, I can see it. You're going to be a wonderful dad, Harry!"

Hermione elbowed Ron who shook himself, seeming to snap out of it slightly. "Mate…congratulations," he breathed out with a small smile. "Merlin, I'm a godfather!"

That seemed to drain the compartment of all the last of the tension and Harry and Hermione exchanged a look and laughed. "So, interesting summer, huh?" Hermione chuckled. "It's good to meet you, Little Bit," she smiled and said to the egg, causing Harry to preen in happiness.

"We need names!" Ron excitedly sat up with a grin. "Bilius is a good name!" The other two immediately started protesting as the train made its way on to Hogwarts and a new, and very different year than any they had before.

There was a deep silence over the Great Hall as everyone congregated for the welcome feast. There was a tangible lack of laughter and joy as those who had fought in the battle looked around, seeing those who had fallen, where Lavender's body had been, Colin Creevey, Remus Lupin, Professor Sinistra and many others…the missing places of those who hadn't returned. Harry looked up at the head table and gave it an irritated frown.

"What did the git do now?" Ron asked, following his friend's gaze to their Potions professor.

"Nothing," Harry whispered back to his friends. "I just don't like his glamour. It's a mask, and I like seeing his real face, it's so much more expressive. This just seems fake."

"Glamour?" Hermione whispered back, matching Ron's confused look.

"Oh yeah, he'd already glamoured himself when you saw him at Grimmauld, Ron," Harry noted, remembering they didn't know. "He was turned into a vampire when he was nineteen."

"Are you telling me that Snape's a teenager!" Ron hissed back in a surprised laugh, glancing up at the head table and getting a glare from the man once again wearing his old, starched teaching robes and looking much the same as the year before except with a large scar now on his neck and a better haircut.

"That has to be a really powerful glamour," Hermione whistled in respect to the spell.

"Hey, Ron?" Neville leaned over from where he was sitting beside Dean Thomas. "Is Ginny telling the truth? Is your brother a werewolf?"

"Yeah, what of it?!" The younger Weasley brother immediately went on the defensive. "He'll be the best History of Magic professor we've ever had!"

Neville raised an eyebrow at his glowering countenance. "Er…ok, that's a low bar, but yeah…I liked Percy when he was our Prefect and Head Boy…I was just checking…"

"Haven't we been through enough?! Why would the board approve a werewolf after everything we've already suffered?!" Dean Thomas glowered from the other side of Neville.

"Hey! That's my brother!" Ron was still glaring at everyone.

The only thing preventing a row from immediately starting amongst the eighth year Gryffindors (or those who were sitting at the Gryffindor table anyway since they technically weren't part of the house) was the shock sent through the Great Hall when Theodore Nott yelled out and punched Draco Malfoy over at the Slytherin table.

"Bastard!" Was screamed into the hall from a furious Theodore Nott..

"You will stop this instant!" McGonagall's voice echoed in the shocked silent hall, stopping Theo's fist just as it was coming back for another blow. "We will not begin this year in animosity! We're all struggling enough as it is. You will calm yourselves this instant. Mr. Nott, please join the Hufflepuff table, and Mr. Malfoy, you will join the Gryffindors. As our eighth years are not technically members of any house, you will spend at least the next month sitting at different house tables, neither of which will be Slytherin!"

Draco was rubbing his red cheek as he headed towards the lions, a haunted look in his eyes. He looked like he'd been stabbed in the back instead of having been punched. "Hey, Malfoy! Over here!" Harry called out causing Hermione to smirk at Ron who just rolled his eyes.

"Merlin, I can't believe I'm actually glad you like Snape instead of that git," Ron whispered to Harry, getting a laugh from Hermione.

"Be nice," Harry warned, but moved his bag into his lap instead of beside him where there was an empty spot he'd been blocking off to give himself more space, but needs must…

"Potter," Malfoy dropped into the seat and huffed. "I don't need your pity or your protection…"

"Merlin, Malfoy," Harry rolled his eyes and smirked at the teen. "The term hasn't even started. I thought we were trying to play nice this year. That was the understanding I had from our conversation at least. Plus, your godfather would have my hide if I made you sit with the first years."

Professor Flitwick then entered the hall with the group of first years who seemed to be a smaller class than normal and which were looking around in shock and more than a little fear. "Clap for everyone, especially those sorted into Slytherin!" Harry hissed warningly, loud enough all the eighth years at the table could hear him.

"But Harry…" Dean Thomas began but was shut down by a look from Neville, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Malfoy just shook his head in bemusement and took a sip of the water in front of him. "They are only children…" he added in, reminding those who seemed upset with Harry's order around them.

"Death Eaters shouldn't talk…" Ginny Weasley began with a glower.

"And he has a valid point even if you don't like him," Harry cut her off with another glare. "They are children, and Malfoy didn't have a choice there at the end. He's a right prat that was a jerk before and probably still is, but he didn't deserve what he was made to do either. Look, a Ravenclaw…clap!" He reminded them as the first student was sorted and they grumbled but led the way in clapping.

"Merlin, Uncle Sev really rubbed off on you this summer," Malfoy smirked beside Harry but very pointedly clapped for the next student sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Just shut it," Harry told him but with a chuckle.

Severus Snape tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes and wake up enough to make some coffee when he stumbled out of his bedroom on the first day of class. The welcoming feast had been concerningly tense and the five new Slytherins sorted into his house had a rough night trying to get settled, which meant he'd been up late talking with everyone and also making sure the eighth years that used to be a part of his house had found their rooms and were settled as well. With a deep breath, he was surprised to recognize the smell of already brewed coffee coming from his little kitchen area.

The second surprise of the morning was the ancient Black family house elf that had set up an ironing board and looked to be busy ironing a black robe over by where Fawkes was, of course, perched in a corner on the golden perch that used to be in the headmaster's office when Dumbledore had been there. It seemed his chambers would not only be hosting the former, Gryffindor savior but also his house elf and the bloody annoying bird.

"You aren't a Hogwarts elf," Severus sputtered out in his surprise at seeing the elf there.

The elf turned his large yellow eyes up at the potion master in a glare. "Kreacher worked at Hogwarts all last year. Kreacher is not leaving his Master Harry again," he said in explanation before he went back to ironing.

"Thanks for the coffee," Snape really couldn't care less if the elf had followed them to the school. He was a bit trying, but usually turned all his mother hen tendencies on Potter anyway. The bird would probably end up being much more annoying.

"Your robe, Potion Master Snape," Kreacher handed the long black robe to him.

Severus blinked a couple times. Maybe those mother hen tendencies weren't completely focused on Potter after all. "Er, thank you, Kreacher," he said, taking the robe in his hand that wasn't currently holding a mug of coffee.

He slowly made his way back into his bedroom. The robe was one of his new "stylish" ones instead of his normal teaching robes. Snape looked at the old teaching robes he'd already thrown on the bed out of his closet that morning and back at the freshly ironed robe. It then dawned on him, he really didn't want to be teaching, and this was his last year. He didn't have to return next year, and he sure as hell could do things the way he wanted to now that Dumbledore wasn't around and he no longer had to maintain his position as a spy. He could bloody well be who he wanted to be and everyone else could just deal with it.

With a wicked grin, Severus threw his new robe on the bed and went to his closet, he dug around until he found his favorite pair of muggle jeans. They fit him well and made him feel confident in his skin, unlike most of his other clothes. Next, he pulled out an emerald green button down shirt that Potter had insisted he buy. He liked black, but the all black look had really just been a costume as well as the stuffy, starched robes to build him up as intimidating and old fashioned. He didn't care what anyone said now. He planned to be comfortable, feel good about himself, and teach the way he wanted to for the first time ever. He'd do his job well, by Merlin, but he was going to do it his way!

After quickly changing, Severus went to the shared bathroom which was luckily empty and finished getting ready. He looked at his hair. He could style it the way the woman who cut it in Diagon Alley told him to, but really, wearing it down was inconvenient. He'd thought it made him look sterner and older to wear it down back when he started teaching, but really, a stray hair falling into a cauldron could be disastrous. So, he pulled it back into a low ponytail. He hesitated as he looked into the drawer with his things in it. A silver clasp in the shape of a snake with emeralds for eyes sat in a box, untouched. On a whim, he'd once bought it because he liked it and thought he could wear it for nice occasions. It'd remained in its box, never worn for years though. Deciding that he did actually deserve some nice things, he lifted it out of the box and clasped it onto the tie holding his hair back. He looked in the mirror with a quick nod. He didn't think he'd ever be good looking even with his vampire genetics of perfect skin and teeth when unglamoured, but he felt comfortable and more confident now than he ever had dressing the Death Eater part.

When Snape finally left the bathroom, he only made it two steps into the common area before a low whistle stopped him. "Wow, you look hot!" Potter exclaimed from where he was emerging from his room a surprised look on his face.

"No," Snape breathed in and quickly turned to head back into this bedroom to change, fleeing this situation. He would not be made fun of!

"Wait," Potter grabbed onto his arm to stop him with inhuman speed. "Don't change. You really look great. I'm being serious."

"I'll not be made fun of, Potter," he sneered at the teen. "I'll just put back on my old robes and cast the glamour…let me go."

The infuriating man tightened his hold on Severus's arm, his too green eyes looking at Snape in…not pity…concern? "I swear Snape, I'm not making fun of you," he said with feeling. His look so intense that Severus thought he might have stopped breathing for a second. "You look great. You may have to beat off a few of the seventh and eighth years looking like that, but you look like you now…what I've come to know this summer as Severus Snape."

"You're not making fun of me?" He couldn't help asking in a disbelieving and shocked tone.

"Hell no! You look very classy like that…and I really do understand the glamour, and I'm not judging, but if you just didn't cast it…you wouldn't tire out so quickly in the day, and you could finally be you for once. If you cast it, I still support you though, and you'll still look great," Ha…Potter grinned broadly at him.

Severus's eyes finally traveled down to escape the green ones that were making him significantly uncomfortable to take in the sight of the teen who'd obviously tried that morning as well. He was wearing well-fitting black slacks, a white dress shirt with the sleeves halfway rolled up his arms and was carrying his normal leather satchel as well as a bookbag. "You look like a waiter," he smirked at the teen.

Instead of taking the bait, Potter just grinned even more broadly at him. "Hey, that's several steps up from my old look of unwanted orphan, so thanks," Potter laughed and finally released his arm. "I still have school robes to throw over this anyway, so it's not like anyone will be asking me to refill their pumpkin juice."

"So, the glamour…" Snape trailed off but with a questioning and fearful look at the teen he was starting to trust more than even himself. "If I didn't…it would be chaos…"

Potter shrugged and gave him a brilliant smile. "Yes, but it might also take everyone's minds off the trauma of being back in the castle after everything. You know…give them something else to talk about."

"It would also take some of the heat off Weasley," he sighed at that thought, knowing it would actually help the new professor, and it wasn't like he wasn't going to be getting glares and whispers after the last year anyway.

"Hey," Potter put a hand on his arm and Snape might actually have stopped breathing in shock at that again. Those blasted green eyes looked at him with an intensity he was not prepared for before he'd even finished his first cup of coffee. "You make this decision for yourself. It is completely up to you."

Snape nodded and cleared his throat. The moment was broken when Fawkes chirped something from his perch that caused Harry to turn and laugh. He hadn't figured out why or how Potter seemed to understand the bird, and it had to be more than the teen still using Dumbledore's wand, but it seemed there was definite understanding there.

"Right…" he took two steps towards the door before stopping and turning back to Potter with a raised eyebrow. "You aren't going to make me do this alone now, are you? That's not really Savior of the Wizarding World behavior now, is it?"

The teen laughed loudly and took the school robes Kreacher held out for him. "Of course not, I'd lose all my street cred then as the meddling Gryffindor."

"Salazar, forbid!" Snape snorted in amusement and steeled himself to open the door and step out of his rooms, feeling very naked without his glamour.

Up Next: Snape meets the students...