As she watched the man sleep that night, Harmony kept going through the events of the day on her mind.

He had caught her by surprise and she deeply disliked nasty surprises. It was nobody's fault, of course. He had no control over what was happening to him. But she hated the feeling all the same.

If he agreed to the bound… Well, things would be easier for sure. Having to guess his thoughts and feelings the whole time was hard. Harmony changed position on the armchair, trying to feel comfy. As comfy as she could, after spending almost two weeks sleeping in it. Not that she minded, she mentally shrugged. She had to keep watch over him anyway and…

Harmony rubbed her face with her hands. Who was she trying to fool? She was sleeping on the armchair because she couldn't find in herself to use other room. The couch in the living room should have been an option but she never felt like sleeping there. She liked her room, her own set of four walls. They felt safe, secure even with the bed was now occupied by another. A yawn gave her a sudden need to stretch out her arms. Rufus was on the bed, laying beside Severus. One of them at least kept having a mattress to lie in.

Deciding that it was more than time to sleep, Harmony pulled on a blanket and snuggled with it. The morning would bring many emotions and she would need her rest.

xxx xxx xxx

"Are you comfortable?" Harmony asked as she tucked some stray hair behind Severus' ear. He nodded back to her and her smile grew a tiny bit.

They had gone through their entire morning routine already in the bedroom. Now they had come to the point where they would take care of their impending issue.

"Have you made up your mind?"

Snape opened his mouth as if to answer, some hesitance on his features.

"Do you want me to explain further details?"

He gave her a nod. Harmony took a deep breath before going on.

"You can't imagine how much I would like to… No matter." Harmony waved a hand in the air, dismissing her former words. "I will try to explain how this bound will work. To start with, you may want to know that it comes from ancient magic. Really old one. It is not dark by nature but I do recall that it was used for dark purposes once or twice since it was created. It works on different levels: We will share thoughts and emotions. I've found in the past that feelings can't be blocked the way you will block thoughts. They require something different to block. It works differently with everyone on that matter. As you may be asking, yes, I had bounds like these before. They were formed with close people and I still have one going, with Rufus. His works on an entirely different level, I can't really talk with him." She added with an amused smirk. Severus' eyes were glued to her and she felt their intensity. He was paying attention. Harmony tried to focus so that she wouldn't babble out of the subject. "Between Rufus and I, it is more about emotion than anything else. We communicate through it you could say. Perhaps later you will understand what I mean. With us it will be a controlled thing, being that we are both Occlumens. Our capacity to control the flow of thought and emotion is different from other people's. I won't see anything that you don't want me to see and you won't see anything that I don't want you to see either. At the beginning, I may have to be the one to control it more, as you never had one of these before. You didn't, did you?" She inquired, giving him an opportunity to give some input. He gave her a smirk and shook his head. " I will make sure that this works for both of us." She promised, her voice low now. Each word was heartfelt. "Will you agree?"

Severus seemed to take his time to weigh her words and she had expected nothing sort of that from that particular man.

Minutes stretch by and for a while, he all but appeared lost in his thoughts. Harmony waited by his side. She had decided to give him her morning and put over her work till after the matter was settled.

Then he finally nodded. One single and quite formal looking nod. It felt like he had just finished signing a contract, the same finality implied.

"Very well. Are you ready to allow me entrance? If you try to stop me while I'm inside, it will hurt as both physically. And while I do own a good stock of headache potions I would rather not use them today." She meant it as a joke but she knew that if he tried to fight her back on her intrusion she would indeed need a strong headache reliever. They both would.

"Breath and relax. That's all that I ask, Sir."

Calling to her all her focus, she directed her energy into his dark eyes and subsequently slipped into his mind.

Ahead of her, tall walls kept a fortress concealed behind them. It felt eerily familiar in a way. It looked in part like Hogwarts but not quite so big. There were no visible doors.

'What now?' She wondered, looking around for clues. Slowly, a door appeared on the wall not very far from her. Made of wood and with some rust. How original. Harmony tried to open it but it wouldn't move at all. Deciding that perhaps something else was being required, she furrowed. An idea popped in her mind that made her grin. It was worth the try.

Raising her hand, she knocked on the door in what could be deemed a respectful way. When the door cringed open, she had to make an effort to keep from laughing. She had always heard that the man was quite adamant about education and good manners but this was taking that to another level. She doubted that the Dark Lord would have taken the trouble of doing as she had but then she also doubted that the spy would have bothered asking for such demonstration of respect from the tyrant.

Stepping inside, Harmony found herself in the dungeon's corridors.

'Long time, no see.' Harmony greeted with enthusiasm.

They resembled like an accurate replica of the original ones. She remembered some portraits and the occasional suit of armor as she started her way through the dark corridors. She had lived in Hogwarts basement after all.

Her enthusiasm soon tampered. The replica was only the facade to a labyrinth. A cover up. Every wall had several doors, all unidentified. All had the same appearance and they were all locked.

Harmony groaned in frustration. She hadn't expected it to be easy but like this would take forever for her to find the core. Her energy was wearing out at a steady pace and she was sure that his was too. They had a limited amount of time to accomplish this.

"Some help would be nice… " She prompted both inside his mind and outside by his side.

Not one to wait still, she tried another hallway. Something got her attention by the corner of her eye. A Patronus was floating in the air several feet ahead of her. A silver doe?

"Sir?"

The doe took off, leaving behind a trail of silver mist for her to follow. Harmony darted in pursuit, corridor after corridor. At one point, the doe vanished just in front of her eyes on thin air.

Harmony glanced around, noticing that this corridor was different. Instead of doors, it had portraits hanging from the walls. McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, a witch that looked very much like Severus Snape… One, in particular, caught her attention. A portrait of a young red head. She was laughing with pure happiness and joy, her smile so bright. A kind of warmth came from the enchanted canvas joined by a sense o peace. Could it be it? His core? It was worth the try, Harmony theorized. Raising her hands she tried to touch the canvas and found her suspicions confirmed when her hands went across it as if it was just water.

Harmony breathed a few times before starting the incantation. Her chanting echoed through the walls of the place. She felt the connection forming, and then hundreds of flashes of light surrounded her in rapid motions. Memories. Thoughts. Emotions. Past and present. She kept her eyes closed in respect for his privacy. She owned him that. Those belonged to him and him alone.

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

"Harmony?" Came to her a deep baritone voice, velvet smooth. Harmony grinned broadly. She hadn't heard that voice in years. She had forgotten how it sounded altogether. Slowly, she retreated from his mind. It was way easier to get out than to reach inside, and she understood that all the while she had been there she had been fighting against a pull that had tried to send her out. Underlying unconscious safety mechanism probably.

'Harmony? Do you hear me at all?' Severus Snape grumbled on her mind.

She opened her eyes to stare at the man on the bed. His expression was one of doubt and fear.

'I do hear you, Sir. Loud and clear. Welcome back to the living.'

'Thank God!' The man sighed in pure relief and seemed almost on the brink on crying. His breathing was somehow erratic and Harmony flinched as a huge quantity of emotions all but washed over like a big wave on the shore of the sea. After so long it felt intense to feel so much at once.

"Wow… " She gasped, lightheaded for a second. She shook his head to get free of the feeling. There was the start of a headache on the background.

" Any headache threat on your side?" Harmony inquired dejectedly.

' One of those relievers that you've mentioned earlier would be nice.' Came the answer from him along with the echo of something painful.

"This is one of the many reasons why I avoid messing with minds as much as I can." Harmony complained, getting up and leaving the room. 'Do you feel sick or anything else?' She wondered through the bond as she arrived the kitchen and reached for the potion's cabinet.

'Nothing too bad. It's manageable, thank you.' Severus declared, his voice shaky.

Returning to the room with two vials on her hand, she gave him one first and only after that did she take one herself.

"I hope that the quality is good enough for a Master of Potions."

'It is. Thank you again.'

"No matter. I'm relieved to hear you at last."

'Not so much as I am, I assure you. I thought that I would go mad.'

" It's over now Sir. At least this particular problem is. The rest of it… We will figure it out eventually. I promise."

Severus snorted and his expression to one of disbelief.

'My hopes are not nearly as high as yours seem to be. I would prefer if you kept from promising things that may never come true.'

"Sir..."

'No Sir me. I've been like this for months with little to no improvement. I know how bad this is.' He barked, crushed. So much underlying pain.

Harmony swallowed before joining him on the bed once more. It was the easiest way to be at his level and in closeness. Taking his hand on her, the other cupped his cheek tentatively. He didn't shy away. He rarely did. His eyes denoted sadness.

"We will find a way." She reassured him, looking him in the eye. "Just give me time to work it out. And accurate information would be useful too. That file holds nothing but lies."

"Where do you want me to start?"