Just about a year had passed. Harry would be done with his fifth year of Hogwarts on Friday and he dreaded having to leave. Harry loved his godfather, Sirius Black, but the years of Azkaban took a mental toll on him and Harry could no longer deny that his godfather needed help to heal. The rest of the year had been interesting, to say the least. Harry spent the summer pretty alone, except visits from Remus. Harry tried to write to his friends, but never got replies and Sirius had locked the fireplaces from floo travel and communication, telling Harry it was to protect him now that Voldemort was back.

The summer was spent with Harry having to remind Sirius or ask him not to refer to Harry as James and that was mainly why Harry knew not everything was alright with his godfather. Harry felt himself slip into a further depression that he'd been recovering from because of fourth year with no one to talk to. Sure, he had Remus, but he apparently had a busy summer and Harry didn't see him too often and never long enough to actually talk to him about how Sirius was acting.

When September came around, Harry returned to Hogwarts and spoke with his friends who told him they never got anything from him, which made Harry realize that Sirius must have stopped all his communications outside of Grimmauld Place. That, of course, only made Harry upset and he apologized to his friends, explaining that Sirius was just worried for his well-being with the dark lord being back. His friends, thankfully, understood and said it didn't matter because they were together for the school year.

Nothing much had changed except the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher; it was filled by a woman named Dolores Umbridge, and she was a half-blood former Slytherin student of Hogwarts who worked under the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Dolores was awful and always wore pink. Harry took to calling her a pink nightmare to his friends. Dolores didn't believe in using actual spells for defense, so had them doing the basic book learning.

Harry hated it, but he kept his mouth shut and did his work as expected; he wouldn't bring his house down. Dolores seemed to take joy in calling Harry out for everything, and giving detentions. They were always long, consistent, and Harry would have to write lines with a Blood Quill, which didn't write with ink, rather blood and carved the sentence into the user's hand. Harry tried to tell Severus and would tell Albus, who said he'd do something and didn't.

Harry did date Blaise for a little while, they got into sexual things and felt like they'd been better friends so they broke up mutually and remained good friends despite being ex-lovers. Things got harder for Harry when it became known that there was a mental link between himself and Voldemort and it had allowed Harry to see when Arthur Weasley got attacked by Voldemort's snake, Nagini. That happened just before the Christmas holiday. While Ron, Ginny, Fred and George were grateful to Harry for the warning their father was in danger; things were still quite tense from the year before.

Harry had started to forgive people, but only those who proved they were actually sorry. Harry started to work with his old friends again, they even started a club called Defense Association, or Dumbledore's Army. It was created by Ron, Hermione, and Harry to properly teach students how to defend themselves since Dolores refused to. It was made up of only Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Harry, unfortunately, couldn't include the Slytherins because most of them became part of the High Inquisitorial Squad.

Harry didn't like keeping secrets from his Slytherin friends, but it was necessary to ensure their secret didn't get out. The night Arthur Weasley got attacked, Albus had immediately called on Severus to teach Harry Occlumency, to shield his mind from any attacks or visions. Those lessons began to happen several times a week and any progress Harry and Severus were making in not hating one another got destroyed during one lesson where Harry tried to protect himself from Severus looking in his mind and it caused Severus's spell to rebound and Harry ended up in Severus's mind.

Seeing all the times that his father, Peter, and Sirius bullied him. Severus was ever angry and threw Harry out of his office. Severus seemed to have gone back to hating Harry actively and that brought Harry down too; he didn't tell anyone and was trying on his own power to keep Voldemort out. Harry was beginning to feel like he had during fourth year before Draco saved him from throwing himself off the Astronomy Tower.

Harry still tried to just stay on his work and mind his own. Between Umbridge and Severus hating him, then Sirius losing himself in wanting his best friend back, Harry couldn't take it anymore. And what was worse, his friends did take notice of his diminishing mental state and they were worried about Harry as he seemed to be pulling away. Harry had gone to Albus, told him about Sirius's mental state and asked to stay elsewhere and shockingly, Albus told Harry that he believed what Harry dealt with at the Dursley's had been abuse so he failed to see how Harry was getting abused by Sirius.

Harry didn't bother trying further because Albus said if it was really that bad then he'd send Harry back to the Dursley's since there was nobody else to take him in. Remus was ineligible due to his werewolf status, and Harry couldn't stay with the Weasley's due to their unprotected home. There was also a battle at the ministry of magic because Harry thought Voldemort was torturing Sirius and rushed there with a couple friends to save him. It was a farce by Voldemort for Harry to get a prophecy about himself having the power to defeat the dark lord.

The prophecy was broken now, and Harry and Voldemort dueled a second time where Voldemort ran when Aurors arrived. Harry was losing himself and needed to get away, but what could he do? He wasn't seventeen yet, not even sixteen until July 31st this year and it was only June 16th. Harry still had a year and basically two months until he was considered of age in the wizarding world.

Right now, Harry was sitting alone in his bed while everyone else was off doing something downstairs; Harry had told them he wasn't feeling great and was going to rest. Harry ended up crying and not knowing what else he could do. "What do I do…How do I get away from Sirius? God, that feels awful to say…" Harry sighed. "I've got nothing to use and no one owes me any-," Harry stopped, remembering what Remus and Sirius told him at the start of fourth year. Life Debts. And Severus owed his father one, which had been transferred to Harry.

But how would he call it in? What could Harry ask of Severus that would help him out. Harry couldn't live with Remus, and asking Severus to take him in was useless because Severus wasn't of any kind of family to Harry. That's when the solution hit Harry hard. It was drastic, but it was the only thing he could do. "It's…All I can do." Harry looked out the window as he began to work out how he was going to go about this.

. . .

The week passed slowly, but Harry had everything set up. All he had to do now was talk to Severus and the best time to do that was now, before the summer break. Harry left Slytherin common room and walked down the corridor to get to Severus's office, knowing he was there as always until 10:00 pm. It was 9:00 right now. Harry took a breath and knocked on the door twice.

"Enter." Harry heard from the other side. Harry opened the door and walked in. "Potter…" The man said in a cold, hateful tone. "To what do I owe the displeasure of your visit?"

"I need to talk to you." Harry said.

"Your mannerisms are stellar," Severus scoffed.

"I need your help…" Harry admitted, glancing down some.

"You're off to a stellar start, Mr. Potter. Barging into my office…Just like your father, do whatever you-," Severus started.

"Professor, would you, please, just be quiet and listen!?" Harry cut him off as he made sure the door was shut. Severus stared at him. "First of all, I knocked before coming in and it was only after you said to enter. I didn't barge in." He argued. "Now, please…I know you hate me because I'm your former bully's son, but do you honestly think I'd come bother you if it weren't absolutely necessary? I'm asking nicely, for you to just sit there and let me talk. You wouldn't turn away the other Slytherins, not even Draco if he came to you and said he needed to talk to you or needed help. Would you?"

Severus hated that Harry was right. "No, I wouldn't. So what do you need, Mr. Potter?"

"You're going to fly off the handle and I won't blame you, but please hear me out…" Harry started.

"Out with it, Potter!" Severus demanded.

Harry took a deep breath. "I need you to marry me."

The look on Severus's face was priceless, but Harry knew better than to draw attention Severus's wide eyes and mouth hanging open at Harry's request. "Get out." Severus finally said after five minutes of stunned silence.

"I'm not leaving." Harry refused.

"I'm not asking. Get out. This is my office, Potter." Severus warned angrily.

"You haven't heard me out!" Harry told him.

"Your request is denied. Why in the name of Merlin would I marry you? Why would you even make such a ridiculous suggestion or request of me? It's entirely unprofessional, Mr. Potter. There is no explanation you could give me-," Severus began.

"Sir, please! I need this…I-I…It's the only way." Harry tried.

"Only way for what?" Severus pushed.

"I need to get away from my godfather…I can't live with Remus, and if I leave Sirius's…Dumbledore will send me back to the Dursley's." Harry admitted. "Please? Please…I know what I'm asking, but I wouldn't if I weren't absolutely desperate to get away. I'm a minor wizard and marriage gets me emancipated as a legal adult. Please, Professor…Just for a year or so. Until I'm seventeen, then we can get divorced and once I graduate, you never have to see me again." He pleaded.

"Why do you need to get away from Black?" Severus asked. Harry was quiet. "Tell me, Potter. If you want me to consider this at all, you tell me what you need to get away from him so bad that you'd come to your teacher to ask him to marry you for emancipation purposes…"

"You know how you hate me because I look like my dad?" Harry looked down. "Sirius also sees it. He can't…See me as me."

"What did he do?" Severus asked.

"He just…He isn't okay and he needs help. But if he goes away to get that, I end up back at the Dursley's because Remus can't take me in and Dumbledore won't let me stay here. Professor Snape, please…I wouldn't ask this if I had another choice." Harry informed.

"And why ask me, Potter? You understand that marriages require consummation to be legal, and that you are not only a minor, but my student?" Severus mentioned.

"I know you're the only one strong enough to keep me safe from Voldemort if he attacks again. That's why Dumbledore wants me at the Dursley's or with Sirius. The protection they offer from the dark lord. My aunt with the blood ward protection, or Sirius because Grimmauld is off the radar…" Harry told him. "Also…You owe my dad a life debt from an incident back in your fifth year with Sirius sending you to Remus and my dad saved you…"

"Who told you about that?!" Severus demanded.

"Remus did. Well, Sirius and Remus…Back before fourth year started. We were talking about potions and how I was awful at it. Sirius said I could always call in the life debt to make you be nice to me. I said I wouldn't waste it on such a trivial thing as I've handled years of you being an arse to me over the hate you have of my dad and godfather…" Harry mentioned.

"I've held onto using the life debt all this time, Professor and though I'm not officially calling it in with this request…I did tell you it's my only option. So I'm asking nicely that you agree, but if you don't…I'm calling in what you owe my dad and can't fulfill to him because he's dead and the rights transfer that debt to his only living relative, which is me."

"And what makes you so sure I'm into men to marry you. Surely you won't call that debt in if I say I'm not into males…" Severus countered.

"Of course I wouldn't…But I also know that while you may not be into only men, you do happen to like both. Like Blaise, you like men and women. And before you ask how I know that…Sirius and Remus also told me about you snogging some guy behind a statue after hours…So don't try to tell me otherwise, Professor." Harry folded his arms over one another.

"Blast those two!" Severus yelled. "Potter, I tell you again that I am your teacher…It's forbidden. I'll lose my job. I'll go to Azkaban. You're willing to condemn me for that debt?!"

"No one has to know, Professor. Even if anyone does, sixteen makes me a consenting adult so no one would be able to do anything either way." Harry told him calmly.

"You're only fifteen!" Severus remarked.

"Just until July 31st…It's like six weeks away." Harry reminded. "No one has to know at school. We get married, I live with you for a year and at school, we keep to normal. I'll sleep in the dorm, you stay in your quarters. We keep up the teacher-student act during classes or meals. Who is gonna think otherwise?"

"Obviously, you've thought this out." Severus muttered.

"I told you I was desperate so I am, as they say, covering my arse by covering my bases." Harry replied.

"You do realize if you leave Grimmauld, people are gonna wonder…What's your cover for that?" Severus remarked.

"I'll tell Remus the truth, he'll cover for me and say I'm still at Grimmauld…" Harry stated. Severus was sitting at his desk, muttering and mumbling to himself about the situation. "So…Are you going to agree to this willingly, or am I calling in the debt?" Harry inquired.

"Watch yourself, Potter...You're asking a lot…" Severus glared. "What exactly do I get out of this besides saving your skin?"

"What do you want?" Harry countered. "Sex? That's a bonus of marriage." Severus stiffened at the reply. "You get added to my vault at the bank as my husband, access to the Potter fortune."

"The money doesn't matter, I have my own fortune. And at that…Which name are you taking? I already have two names, I just use one of them." Severus remarked.

"I can take your name, but I'm keeping mine too. I am the last Potter, and one day, I'd like to add to it." Harry said. "Why do you have two names?"

"I carry both my mother and father's…" Severus remarked. "Snape-Prince. Snape is the legal I was born as, I carry Prince by choice and hidden to only those I tell. My mother was a pure-blood, I inherited the family fortune. Tell anyone that and I'll destroy you."

"Who am I gonna tell who probably doesn't already know, say…The Malfoy's?" Harry remarked.

"They already know. Including Draco." Severus muttered.

"Then I've got no one to tell." Harry responded. "As for what you get out of the marriage, besides the obvious…How about I just leave a blank offer on the table, for you to cash in any time you come up with something you want?"

Sadly, with Harry's fame; he could probably get whatever he wanted. "I'll get back to you on that, as long as the offer doesn't expire?" Severus hoped.

"Offer stands for life." Harry replied. "So, do we have a deal?" He asked.

"I've got conditions to this…Arrangement. I'll agree willingly, but legally, I want you to cash in on the life debt with my acceptance of this. I don't want you having anything else over me in the future." Severus said.

"Okay, what else?" Harry questioned.

"We'll marry after school ends and you turn sixteen. I will not touch you before then. We will remain as we are and have been at school during the next year, but I will give you access to my private quarters. I'm sure you've researched that wizarding marriages are a form of bonding and the two bonded have to uphold their vows to the letter or risk consequences…" Severus said.

"I am aware…" Harry nodded.

"You will tell no one of this, except the wolf. I will have to tell the Malfoy's. They're good friends of mine and we see each other frequently and you're aware Draco is my godson," Severus informed.

"I know, Dray told me back in fourth year on the Astronomy Tower after he talked me down from jumping." Harry enlightened.

"Lucius will have to perform the ceremony…He's a lord, he has that privilege…" Severus thought about things. "If Draco or any of your other friends come by my house to visit, you tell them I'm only your guardian while Sirius is away on a mission for Dumbledore. The old fool has regrouped the Order of the Phoenix…If you know what that is?"

"I do. I know Grimmauld is the Order Headquarters…I've been there during meetings, just locked in my room because Sirius was…Being overprotective. It was the group that fought Voldemort in the first war…And I know you're a former death eater…" Harry said as Severus stared at him. "You took the mark as a teenager and switched sides. That's all I know about it. And you're a double agent…"

"Keep that out of your mind. The dark lord can't know." Severus warned.

"Draco's been helping me with Occlumency. You don't have to worry…" Harry promised.

"Has he now? I may test that later, if you're okay with that?" Severus asked.

"Fine…" Harry agreed. "Am I staying at Grimmauld until my birthday, or am I staying with you from when school ends tomorrow?"

"I will meet you at King's Cross tomorrow and bring you to my house. You will have one opportunity to gather what you want to bring with you. What will you tell your godfather?" Severus asked.

"I'm not telling him until he gets the help he needs…Remus is already taking care of that," Harry informed softly. "I sent him word that Sirius wasn't okay and needed help, without little details about why I felt that way. Remus told me he'd handle it as long as he knew I had a place to go. I told him not to worry. I promised I was safe and he'd find out soon."

"Very well then…" Severus leaned forward and offered his hand. "We have a deal, Mr. Potter."

"We're gonna be married, Professor. I'd very much like if you could, at least, call me Harry when we're alone or with people who know the truth." Harry took Severus's hand.

"Then you may call me Severus in the same settings…" Severus agreed.

It was settled. Harry and Severus were going to get married. Never in either of their lives did they think this was something that would be a thing between them. But Severus owed Harry's father, by extension now, Harry, a debt and Harry needed a safe haven. So the only solution was to get married.