When Snape held her back after Potions on Friday, Hari didn't know what to expect. He'd been so weird. She thought at first that he was just treating her differently because everyone was watching her, and that he would eventually go back to normal. But as the weeks progressed he got even more weird. He hadn't gone so far as to complement her in class, but she'd been getting O's on all of her papers and he hadn't sneered at her in weeks. She kind of hated it.

"Am I correct in my assumption that you are finished with classes for the day?" he asked stoically once they were alone.

"Yes, sir," she replied.

"Follow me," he said and rose from his work bench, leading her into his office.

Once they were both seated, they sat in awkward silence. Hari really didn't know what was going on.

"Am I in trouble, sir?" she asked.

"Quite the opposite, in fact," he mumbled. "It has come to my attention that I owe you an apology."

The silence that followed his statement lasted for so long that Hari thought that it may have been the apology, but then he continued.

"It is no secret that your father and I had a certain… disdain for each other. I allowed my judgements of him to cloud my opinion of you, and have been operating under incorrect assumptions regarding your home life. I am well aware that I have not treated you kindly, and for that, I sincerely apologize."

Hari was floored. She was conscious of her jaw hanging open but was unable to do anything about it. Snape said no more, they just sat there staring at each other. At first, she thought it must be some cruel joke. He'd apologize, and then he'd go right back to his old treatment of her. But the longer she looked, the more emotion she saw in his face. Mostly in the eyes. He was sad, he was anxious, and he was waiting for her to speak.

"Thank you, sir," she said, and he gave her a short nod. He obviously expected her to leave, but Hari remained seated. "While we're airing things out… could I ask you a question?"

"If you must," he replied through gritted teeth and just a hint of venom on his tongue.

"Why did you join him? In the beginning?"

Whatever Snape was expecting, it hadn't been that. He probably thought she didn't know. But the library had old copies of the Prophet in a hidden corner and Snape's pardon had been big news. He tore his gaze away from her and clenched his jaw, seemingly having some sort of internal debate about the best way to dispose of her body.

"He once held honorable goals," he finally said, still not meeting Hari's eye. "But his methods turned to madness as soon as he was met with resistance. By then, we were stuck. Trapped. By the mark," he spat the last word out and his eye twitched.

"Could I see it?" she asked before she could think better of it. She was pushing her luck.

Snape hesitated, having another internal debate about how he could get away with her murder, but he eventually rolled up his left sleeve and held his arm out across the desk. Hari stood to get a closer look. It was faded, but the design was still obvious. A snake coiled around a skull. Her hand reached out on instinct to trace the snake and her magic sparked as soon as she did.

"~It's time for you to go,~" she commanded the snake. It hissed in protest and Snape flinched back in pain. Then student and teacher watched as the mark faded away to nothing.

Snape was staring at his forearm in awe, displaying more emotion than she'd ever seen from him. Possibly more emotion that anyone had ever seen from him. It made her uncomfortable, so she grabbed her bag and headed to the door.

"It'll be harder to remove them the stronger he gets," she said with her hand on the doorknob. "If you know of anyone else who wishes to be free, they should come sooner rather than later." She was gone before he'd processed what she'd done.

The castle's rumor mill noticed the changes in Snape right away; the only rumor that got any traction was that the potion's master was getting laid, though no one agreed on who they thought his lover was. He wasn't just nicer to Hari, he was nicer to everyone. He still wasn't especially pleasant, but he wasn't taking points away for nothing anymore, and he wouldn't yell unless he really thought you'd made a stupid mistake. Neville was starting to actually look forward to potions. He's always had a knack for herbology, and potions is a natural extension of it. As soon as he wasn't scared, he started doing really well. His confidence was soaring by the time the Yule Ball was announced.

Neville was dreading the dancing lessons McGonagall announced, as was Hari though for different reasons. Hari didn't have any experience dancing, and no one in their right mind would ever describe her as graceful unless the words 'on a broom' followed immediately after. Poor Neville was having flashbacks to his grandmothers lessons.

The twins both got dates fast, as did Hermione, though she wouldn't tell anyone who it was. Hari supposed she should be a little worried about getting a date, but she was more worried about the dancing itself then who she'd be going with. Luckily, that problem was solved for her.

Cedric had been doing a lot of thinking. At first, he hadn't really known what he was feeling, but after an awkward and painful conversation with his best friend, Jax, he'd accepted that he had feelings for Hari Potter. He'd never really had feelings for anyone before. He'd gone on a few dates to Hogsmeade with different girls, but it had never gone further than that. He'd never even kissed anyone. But he felt so drawn to Hari. He always wanted to be near her. To look out for her. To help her. So after a lot of internal debates, he decided to ask her to the ball. It took four days of convincing for him to work his way up to it, and an opportunity presented itself when he spotted Hari, Ron, and Hermione leaving Hagrid's hut. Cedric caught up to the trio and requested a word with Hari. Ron looked confused but Hermione scolded him and dragged him off.

"So, erm," Cedric started, wringing his hands together and shuffling about nervously. "I was wondering if you'd… well, if you'd like to go with me to the ball?"

"What?" Hari asked stupidly, but Cedric just broke out into a grin and asked again.

"I'd like to take you to the Yule Ball. As my date," he clarified.

Hari just stood there for a moment, finding herself at a loss for words. Then she found herself blushing. "I, um, I'd love to, but-,"

"Someone already asked you," Cedric said as the smile fell from his face.

"No! No, I mean, people have asked, but I haven't said yes to anyone. I just…" she lost her train of thought while staring into his grey eyes and chewed on her bottom lip while trying to sort out her thoughts. "I… it's not like a pity thing, is it? I wouldn't want you to go with me just because you said we'd stick together. If there's someone you really like-,"

"I like you," he blurted out, then averted his gaze after blushing. "I like you, and I want to go to the ball with you. Only you."

Hari narrowed her eyes and studied him. "Why?" she asked quietly, and the sincerity on her face broke his heart a little bit. She really didn't seem to understand that someone could like her that way.

"Because for the past three years you've done your absolute best to keep your head down and it's failed, quite spectacularly, every time. And this year…," he takes a step forward and takes her hands in his, "this year your whole world fell apart and yet, you walk around with your chin up and you dare them say something about it. Because you scare the shit out of me, and I love it."

A smile crept onto her face slowly and by the time it reached her eyes, her face was redder than Weasley hair. "I'd love to go to the ball with you, Cedric," Hari whispered.

"Brilliant," he said grinning. "There's a Hogsmeade visit scheduled the weekend before break, would you like to go together?"

"Two dates at once?" she teased, "You really know how to make a girl feel special."

"Well, that was the goal," he countered.

"I'd love to," she smiled.

He held his arm out for her and she took it, allowing him to escort her all the way back up Gryffindor Tower. They got a few stares, but it wasn't anything they weren't already used to.

Once back in the common room, Hari was overwhelmed with questions. Hermione had obviously figured out whatever was going on between her and Cedric, but Ron was as clueless as ever.

"He asked you to the ball, right?" Hermione asked with stars in her wide eyes.

"Yeah," Hari said quietly, trying to hide her blush.

"Oh, I just knew it!" she clapped happily. "He's been staring at you during meals," she teased.

"What?" Ron asked. "For how long?"

"Ever since we walked out of defense and spent an hour with him in Professor Sprout's office."

Hari scrunched her face up in confusion, "Was that him?" she asked honestly.

"Yes, Hari," Hermione said, slightly scolding her for not being observant.

"Well I was kind of out of it, at the time," Hari defended, and Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Do you think… do think he really meant it? He said that he likes me, and he asked me to the next Hogsmeade weekend."

"Why wouldn't he mean it?" Hermione asked as Ron backed out nervously.

"Because…" Hari exhaled heavily and looked away. "Because he's popular and attractive and I'm… just Hari."

Hermione sighed and place one hand over Hari's, "One day you'll realize how amazing you are. For now, just enjoy it. I'm sure he already knows that I'd destroy him if he hurts you."

Hari laughed, already feeling better about it. "Thanks, Mione."