Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: Thank you all for the reviews. I'm really glad you guys are still liking the story.

As for Ron and Hermione, one of you mentioned that they never argue about eating. You're right, I honestly fell for the fanon trap, because I see it in fanfic all the time. I don't think they argue about it in canon though. As for them getting in rows, I do have to disagree with you there. It's true that most of the time, they do bicker, and they do seem to like it. But in third year, they went for ages without talking to each other because of the whole Crookshanks and Scabbers thing. They got into some pretty nasty rows in fourth year, too, regarding SPEW and the Yule Ball. But you're right that most of the time, they do seem to get something out of their bickering.

On another note, I have always had the headcanon that both Moody and Barty Crouch, Jr. knew that Snape was an Occlumens and a Legilimens. This will come into play throughout this story.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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Severus Snape sat in his office, his students' work spread out in front of him which he was trying to grade. But for once, he couldn't concentrate. Feelings of anger and confusion were bombarding him on all sides as he tried futilely to think about what he was doing.

Anger was an emotion he was very used to feeling, but confusion was not, which made him all the more angry. And the reason for the confusion only set his teeth on edge even further; of all things, Harry Potter was the cause.

His mind circled back to the events of earlier. He had been sitting in the same position he was in now, about to call a house-elf and ask them to bring him some dinner when he heard a distinct clunking sound coming towards him. Immediately, his face had contorted into a sneer. The infamous Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody was the last person he wished to see.

He didn't know why Dumbledore kept hiring fools to fill the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. To have Lupin here last year, taunting him with the ghosts of his past, was agony. Seeing him sitting in the staff room day in, day out, being shown respect by the other teachers, had made him livid. And now, Moody had made his presence known - it seemed as though Dumbledore loved making Severus pay for his past mistakes. Moody was one person in the Order of the Phoenix who had never trusted him when he switched sides during the war. He always knew just what to say in order to hurt him. And now here he was, clunking towards his office, ready for another round. Snape centered himself, trying to prepare for it.

The clunking stopped, and it was followed by a loud knock on the door. Before Snape could give permission, the door opened and Moody stomped in. "Hello, Snape," he sneered, his face full of disgust as he stared at all the potions ingredients on the shelves.

"I did not tell you to enter, Moody," Snape barked at him. How dare he enter this office as if he owned the place? "Decent people wait for permission before they walk into one's domain."

"One's domain?" Moody guffawed with laughter. "You are a pretentious bastard, aren't you, Snape? I needed to have a little chat with you, and sooner rather than later."

"What do you want?" Snape snarled, his face showing everything he felt towards the other man. "Get it over with, will you? Some people would like to eat their dinner in peace."

"You don't deserve such a thing as peace, and you know it," Moody spat. "You belong in the ninth circle of Hell, Snape. But if that's the way you want it, that's ruddy fine. I'm here to talk about one of your students."

"And who might that be?" Snape drawled. He did his best to let the comment about him belonging in Hell roll off him. Which student was Moody speaking of?

"That little devil, Malfoy," Moody said maliciously, his face containing a nasty smirk. "Draco Malfoy. He showed the most unsportsmanlike behavior. Common for one of your students, I presume. He and the Potter boy were going at it, exchanging verbal insults. Potter decided he'd had enough and went to walk away, but that little coward of yours shot a curse at him behind his back."

At the mention of Harry Potter, Snape's mood darkened further. Didn't the fool boy know when to leave Draco alone? Of course they had been fighting again, but what was this about the boy walking away? Moody must have been mistaken. If Draco shot a curse at Potter, Potter must have struck first. "I doubt your version of events is correct," he sneered. "Potter isn't the little hero many think he is. I'm sure Draco was reacting to something he did."

Moody's face grew even more malicious, his magical eye spinning around in its socket and then staring straight at Snape. "That's where you are WRONG!" he shouted, the last word filling up the entire room with negative energy. "Your little sainted Malfoy was the aggressor. But I got him back, didn't I? Turned the little urchin into a ferret and showed him what happens to people who attack their opponents when their back is turned."

Snape felt the blood drain from his face, and knew it had gone white. Moody spoke proudly, as though what he had done deserved to be rewarded. The Potions Master jumped out of his seat, his anger at the man coming back tenfold. "You did WHAT?!" he roared.

Both men stared daggers at one another; if looks could kill, both would be six feet underground by now. "I turned him into a ferret," Moody smirked, taking pleasure in each word. "And you must know, many of the Gryffindor students agreed with my actions. They knew perfectly where they stood on that issue. But Potter, of all people, Potter who was wronged by the little whelp, he was the one who stopped me. Merlin above, that boy is too soft. Malfoy and his ilk, those such as yourself, have completely ruined the boy's life, and the naive fool told me to stop. He claimed dear Draco didn't deserve my wrath." Moody went on smirking as his one normal eye narrowed. "He's not going to make it to adulthood if he continues to display that attitude."

He stared straight into Snape's black eyes, letting the scene play in his mind. Moody knew Snape was a Legilimens, and he wanted him to see exactly what had happened. Snape could have easily looked away from that penetrating gaze, but he knew he had to see what had happened to Draco.

Disgust roiled through him as he felt the pleasure Moody had felt as he punished Draco. The malice literally dripped from him as he bounced the injured ferret around on the floor. He boiled with fury as he saw Gryffindors standing around, laughing at the scene. It reminded him all too much of his school days, when his classmates had laughed hysterically at the many humiliations inflicted upon him by James Potter and his little gang.

Then, Harry Potter was standing before Moody, his emerald eyes burning with anger as he screamed at the man to stop. For a moment, Snape was transported back in time; instead of seeing Harry, he saw Lily, her own emerald eyes sparking with that same fire. Snape was then thrown back into the present as Moody nastily responded, then reluctantly turned Draco back into a human. He saw the hurt and wounded pride on Draco's face, and the usual threat of, "my father will hear about this!" escaped his lips. Snape sighed; that was almost automatic for Draco, to use his father's name and influence to intimidate others. But Moody was not one of those who could be intimidated, he knew. He almost rolled his eyes at the childish insult Draco threw at Potter as he and his Slytherin peers made their way out of the entrance hall.

Snape's mind spun as the memory ended. "There, now," Moody said sardonically, his expression vicious. "Taught that one a lesson he'll never forget, now didn't I?"

"How dare you, Moody!" Snape spat at him, his anger almost at the breaking point. It was extremely difficult at that moment not to lose all self-control and perform a nasty hex on the man.

"Oh, I do dare, Snape," Moody sneered back. "And what are you going to do about it? Tell Dumbledore? Like he'll do anything. He's always watching you, isn't he, Snape? And he trusts me. After all, he didn't have to get me out of retirement. And as for you ... one thing is for certain. I've got my EYE on you, Snape." He let his magical eye spin around in its socket again, and it then focused one last time on Snape before Moody turned around and stumped out of the office, his wooden leg clunking with each move it made.

Snape banged his hand down on the desk, causing it to hurt but he didn't care. The physical pain momentarily distracted him from the mental anguish that was seizing him. Once the ache began to vanish, though, the despair and fury came back with a vengeance.

Moody had gone for Snape's jugular, and he had hit it dead on. He knew that Snape was in a precarious position, and if the Potions Master told Dumbledore what Moody had done, he might be given a lecture on how to treat students, but he wouldn't be fired. There was a good reason the Headmaster had coerced the ex-Auror and Order member out of retirement, and he wasn't about to let him go.

Snape tried to calm himself down, but his mind buzzed with too many conflicting feelings. He felt a mixture of exasperation and pity for Draco Malfoy. Exasperation, because he now knew Moody had been telling the truth and Draco had attacked Potter when his back was turned, when the other boy was, for once, walking away from a confrontation. Pity because of the so-called punishment he had been given for it, and the aches and pains that were surely still bothering him now. He knew how much the other boy's pride must be wounded. I'll check on him tomorrow, he thought, his mind made up. He's probably hiding away in his dorm right now, too embarrassed and ashamed to speak with anyone.

But what he simply couldn't wrap his mind around were the actions of Harry Potter. From the moment he'd first lain eyes on the boy, all he could see was James Potter in miniature. Last year, the reminders had particularly stung; he'd never forget when his head had been sighted in Hogsmeade. It was obvious the boy had gotten a hold of his father's Invisibility Cloak, and when that imbecile Lupin had covered up for the boy and made it clear he had that parchment that had insulted Snape, the man's anger knew no bounds. He had always wondered how James and his gang, in their later Hogwarts years, had constantly seemed to be able to get themselves out of trouble, and he had a bad feeling that that piece of parchment had something to do with it.

But now, for the first time, Snape had seen Lily in Harry rather than James. He would have expected Harry to guffaw along with all the other Gryffindors, thinking that Moody's actions were just and right.

But he hadn't.

And that, Snape thought as he failed to get his mind in order for the rest of the evening, was something he never could have imagined. And he honestly didn't know how to react.