DISCLAIMER: See Ch. 1.

A/N: Ah, the life of the Snape and famous... LOL...

CHAPTER 32: A WEEK IN SNAPE MANOR

Vicinis bonus esto. Be good to your neighbors. –Cato, de Agri Cultura (4.1)

Harry rose the next morning at half past seven the next morning, and trudged his way over to the bathroom. In it was a giant bathtub the size of a limousine, which had several taps like those in the prefect's bathroom at Hogwarts. After spending a half-hour taking a leisurely bath, he got dressed and passed his time reading in the sitting room.

Before he could crack his Transfiguration book, Hedwig soared in with a package, sealed with the Hogwarts crest and with a letter attached.

After thanking Hedwig, he opened the letter, which was from Dumbledore.

Harry,

First of all, may I congratulate you on being able to share a house with Professor Snape. Enclosed are two books on being a fire elementalist. Even though your fire abilities are based mainly on your love for others, it wouldn't do any harm to learn more about this sort normal ability as a fire elementalist, which I'm sure you have. Speaking of which, I think you should go over this with Snape, so that way, you don't burn his house down.

There is another thing I think you should be aware of: In order to maintain communication silence, the wards on Snape's house have been set so once your owl returns, no owls will be able to deliver to Snape Manor (and yes, your new guardian knows about this, since I went over it with him, of course). With all the panic caused, Voldemort and his Death Eaters will undoubtedly try to go through mail, looking for information sent by desperate and panicked friends. However, should any problems arise, I will send word right away with Fawkes. Speaking of phoenixes, you should keep Ardeavis at home as well, since any phoenix sightings may alert Voldemort's attention.

Wishing you a productive week,

Albus Dumbledore

Harry laughed at his headmaster's quirky sense of humor. He eagerly started reading it, with his Transfiguration book left on the side, forgotten for the time being.

~*~*~*~

Breakfast was eaten in near-silence, except for Neville and Luna's discussion about which plants and animals they might find uses for.

After breakfast, Harry found Snape and told him about the books he had gotten from Dumbledore. Snape looked at them and told Harry to read up on the theoretical chapters before thinking about applying the magic involved.

Harry had just turned around to return to his room when Snape made a hissing noise in pain. He was clutching at his left forearm, where Harry knew the Dark Mark was engraved in his arm. With a nod, Snape went in the direction of his room, where Harry knew his guardian would be donning his Death Eater outfit. With a quickened pace, the boy returned to his sitting room.

For the rest of the morning, Harry read about fire elementalists, occasionally gazing out the window. After an hour or so of reading what a person should and should not do when trying to perform this kind of magic, Harry dozed off on the couch, taking a quick nap.

~*~*~*~

Snape was waiting in the "lobby" of Voldemort's hidden laboratories. Crabbe and Goyle were speaking to each other in grunts, and Malfoy was laughing at a pureblood joke Nott was telling him. Just earlier, Snape had learned that the Death Eater's children who were attending Hogwarts would be transferring to Durmstrang. The reasoning behind them was that with Dumbledore's new security measures and the fact that it didn't have "proper" wiazarding standards like Durmstrang, it would be considered a complete waste for their children to stay there.

After doing some quick mental calculations, Snape realized that at least two dozen of his Slytherins would be leaving Hogwarts. Among them were Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Theodore Nott, and Millicent Bulstrode. That left five Slytherin sixth years: Blaise Zabini, Nora Moon, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass, and Pansy Parkinson.

A smile formed behind Snape's Death Eater mask. Pansy Parkinson had been quite a clever girl, helping Snape weed out Voldemort supporters among the students at Hogwarts. That one day before where Pansy had made that crack about Draco's mother actually showed just how cunning she could be. Pansy was really spying for Snape this whole time, and Draco knew it to; the fawning she did over Theodore Nott was just an act, and a very convincing one at that. Both Pansy and her mother had owed life debts to Snape; unbeknownst to the Dark Lord, Snape had been able to save the lives of Pansy and her mother, Theresa Parkinson, after their husband had tried to defy the Death Eaters. Even to this day, the Dark Lord wondered who had protected them, never knowing it was Snape. (1)

Eventually, the Potions Master's train of thought wandered back over to his godson. He and Draco had toyed with the idea of returning to Hogwarts in disguise, once he had everything sorted out. It would look too suspicious if he showed up the day Hogwarts had reopened as a transfer student from Beauxbatons, from where he would undoubtedly be "Sorted" into Slytherin. They would give it a week, to see how things were different at Hogwarts before he returned. Whether or not it would work was still a toss- up.

The opening of the door interrupted Snape's thoughts. Voldemort appeared, his repugnant face staring at them from underneath his black hood. "Come with me, oh loyal Death Eaters," he said imperiously, and they obeyed.

They dutifully followed their lord through the main laboratory, winding between the maze of equipment and specimens. At the far end, Voldemort stopped before a giant cylindrical tank, which had a curtain in front of it, shielding its contents from view.

"As you all are well aware, Bellatrix is on... shall we say, recuperative leave." There was a moment of silence amongst the Dark wizards; Voldemort never exactly provided such a thing for his men, so it must have been his way of saying that Lestrange was in a world of hurt at the moment from the punishments she had suffered.

"As you all are well aware," Voldemort continued, "It is taking a relatively long time to build up enough troops for my Serpentine Army. By the way, Severus, how is it coming along?"

"Excellent, my lord," Snape replied confidently, "It might have taken months for us to get what we needed, but it will be worth the wait in the end. It should be finished by June, just before Hogwarts closes for the summer."

"Excellent," Voldemort chuckled evilly. "What better time to attack the school of Mudbloods, along with its Mudblood-loving staff, when they're all clustered together in the same place? When all their eggs are clustered in the same nest?" He paused for a moment, and then added as an afterthought, "Of course, that doesn't include you, Severus."

"I know, my Lord," Snape replied, bowing slightly. The plan was to alter snakes into hybrids of themselves and every other conceivable type of animal on the planet, so Voldemort could control them all as a Parselmouth. Such a large-scale attack of so many hybrids had never been attempted before, and so it was unlikely that Hogwarts would have the proper defenses.

"So, as I was saying," Voldemort continued lazily, "Bellatrix suffered an unfortunate injury. More specifically, Potter-" he spat the name, and they all murmured curses at the mention of him "-tried burning her to death. Fortunately, however, she survived, unlike her dear husband. We Slytherins are all survivors, and of course, no survivor wastes any valuable resources. As much as she has failed me on more than one occasion, we still need Bellatrix. So... I fixed her up."

It was a good thing that Snape had already taken a Draught of Peace, otherwise he would have thrown up at what he saw as Voldemort ripped the curtain away. It was only when he returned home that Snape could privately express his revulsion at Bellatrix's "recuperation." (2)

~*~*~*~

It was shortly before lunch when Snape returned home. He walked into the sitting room to find Harry taking a nap on the couch. Normally, Snape would object to such "laziness," except he was positive that given his upbringing, Harry was anything but lazy.

With that, Snape figured that now would be as good a time as ever to "test" Harry.

~*~*~*~

Harry awoke with a start as the door slammed shut. Carefully straightening his glasses and putting his book aside after marking his spot, he sat up. Someone had walked out after shutting the door. Harry decided it was either Snape or Neville.

Not making a sound, he got his wand and crept out. The halls were deserted, but Harry heard footsteps in the distance. One advantage of spending a lot of time as a lion was the fact that his hearing had greatly improved as a human.

Step by step, he crept down the stairs in a defensive stance, wand cocked. Eventually, his senses led him in the direction of the dungeons. The big, heavy wooden door, framed with iron, was left a little ajar. Harry could have sworn he saw movement from within there.

Slowly and quietly opening the door, inch by inch, he walked into the room, paying too much attention to any possible movement from anything within to take in the details of the room itself.

The door slammed shut behind Harry, and he was in what looked like an old dungeon, even with some manacles on the walls. There were also small canals with murky gray water running through, with white mist above them.

Harry shuddered at the thought of what Snape's ancestors would have and could have done down here. His ancestors too, he reminded himself.

Eventually, his attention was drawn to the center of it all, where there was a small cesspool with bubbles coming out of it, with all the other canals branching off from it. Taking out his wand, he looked closer. Standing right over it, he saw something wet, dark brown and slimy pop out of it, floating there for a moment.

Harry took a step back, causing two red octopus-like eyes to open, and a moment later, a few tentacles shot out at him.

With a strangled cry, Harry lifted up off his feet and plunged in.

~*~*~*~

Snape was combing through the old documents found behind the portrait of Mrs. Black. It was about potions, but from a Dark and pureblood viewpoint: there were potions regarding matters like Squibs, werewolves, and other creatures that were frowned upon by pureblood witches and wizards. Also in it were theories about potions pertaining to Dark spells, such as the Cruciatus Curse.

Snape had goals in his mind. Well, of course he had goals, because he was the Head of Slytherin House, where only the most ambitious and determined succeeded! He had hoped to become famous for things such as curing lycanthropy, giving magic to Squibs, and of course, to cure people who had suffered from the Cruciatus Curse, with the help from a certain timid Gryffindor and a ditzy Ravenclaw.

Something started buzzing in Snape's pocket, and taking a magical device, he realized that Harry had indeed failed his test. With a sigh and a shake of his head, Snape got up and glided down towards the dungeons.

~*~*~*~

In the meantime, Harry felt he was in the battle of his life. He became a lion and slashed at the tentacles binding him. After a minute, when he could feel his lungs burning from lack of oxygen, he managed to wrench himself loose. After planting his feet against the side of the canal, he used his powerful leonine legs to leap out of the water.

Breathing heavily and filling his massive lion lungs with air, he slinked as far away from the water as possible, should the thing try and attack him again. He quickly dried himself, sending water all over the place. After than, he leaned against the wall, trying to calm himself down.

"So, did the cat try to play with the goldfish?" jibed a voice from the corner. Snape was standing in the doorway, a sneer on his face, but Harry sensed something else... disappointment?

Harry transformed back, and said, "No sir, I heard something leave my room and sneak down here."

"This was a test, Mr. Potter. The same way you and your friends ran off to the Department of Mysteries last June in a moment of bravado, you once again try to take matters into your own hands. You could have called either house elf for help, but once again, you take it upon yourself to solve everything."

"In other words, I failed the test," Harry summarized, trying to shrug off Snape's barb.

"Indeed you did. That creature in there is a magical breed of squid, much like the once in the lake at Hogwarts. It can be used for security purposes, and it is in this manor to patrol all the underground areas, including the secret ways in and out of this manor." Snape walked over to the center cesspool, knelt down, and sloshed some water around. The head, which was round and had an open mouth with a tongue wagging around between the lips, popped out; it looked like some parody of a pet dog. It observed Snape, making what one would consider "cute" sounds. Walking over to a nearby wall where a metal bucket lay, the Slytherin picked it up and tossed the contents (most likely food) into the water, which the squid eagerly went after to it by diving back in.

On the way out, Snape said, "Meet me in my laboratory one hour before dinner, so you can brew some healing potions for the squid." And with that, he vanished.

'Great,' Harry thought to himself, 'Just great. Not even twenty- four hours in Snape's house, and already I've got a detention.' After using his wand to dry himself faster and better, he went back to his room to get himself cleaned up for lunch.

~*~*~*~

Neville and Luna had had a productive morning, going through which plants and animals and which parts of them could help. They made detailed lists and notes, which they were sure Snape would appreciate. Neville had even moved around a few heavy crates as a bear, while Luna watched and smiled, calling him, "Her big bear."

Neville was blushing as he resumed his human form; he had a feeling that romance wouldn't be very appreciated in Snape Manor. The man simply oozed misery and unhappiness.

It was just then that he heard a slithering sound and remembered: Trevor! The toad had been in his pocket, and quickly rushing back to a carnivorous plant, he slapped its tentacles, and caught his pet before it hit the ground.

"Next time, Longbottom," a familiar chilling voice said from behind him, "you might want to leave your toad in your room. Pets are safer in their owner's living quarters, as opposed to places where they are considered food."

"S-sorry, Professor," Neville said quickly, turning around and trying to look him in the eye.

Using Legiliemency, Snape could see that Neville was thinking back to the beginning of his third year, where his pet toad became the subject for a Shrinking Solution, and Hermione Granger had helped him pull through. 'You really think I'm going to poison your toad if it gets loose again?" Snape asked neutrally, his head slightly tilted to one side.

Neville gulped, and nodded ever so slightly.

Snape sighed. "Then since we are not at Hogwarts, let me disabuse you of that notion right now. Yes, the toad would have been poisoned, but that doesn't mean I would have let it die. For one thing, I always have various antidotes on hand for whatever goes wrong, and for another thing, the Headmaster would sack me faster than blinking if I killed student's pets."

Neville was simply staring at Snape as though the latter had just dyed his hair purple.

"Anyway," Snape went on, "It's nearly time for lunch. Not that I expected a lot of work to be done by now, but any new ideas?"

"Well, since the Cruciatus Curse damages the nervous system, and the nerves therefore have to be repaired, some form of diluted bubotuber pus might help," Neville said confidently, recovering from his fear of Snape. (3)

"Jabberknoll feathers, which effect the memory, seem to have some use," Luna summarized, "and since a Billywig's sting causes giddiness levitation, that might help relieve the gloom the victims feel. I was also considering Harry's idea of using Runespoor eggs, except Nemorphus is probably not mature enough yet, so we could always use the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts."

"Excellent thinking, Miss Lovegood," Snape concluded. As they all left to get ready for lunch, Luna suddenly said, "Professor Snape, I just realized something."

"Yes?"

"There is most likely one student from each house who might be supportive of Riddle, and chances are, they might know of the Room of Requirement by now, and that can be a problem," Luna said, showing not a sign of worry. "I can tell you who all the members were last year when we used it, and the odds of them being supportive of Riddle."

"Good point. Please compile a list for me later, and I shall give it to Professor Dumbledore."

"Of course, Professor Snape." And with that, she glided off to her room, not making a sound.

Snape shook his head. He, like most other people at Hogwarts, considered her to be strange, but harmless. Actually, Snape wondered why she wasn't so upset over people stealing her things (which he knew about from Professor Flitwick, her Head of House). Either that girl knew how to deal with bullies, or she had some secret Snape didn't know as a student.

Harry, who was watching this whole display from a corner, stared in silent shock at how accepting Snape could be of his friends.

~*~*~*~

During lunch, Snape actually struck up conversations. Of course, all of Hogwarts considered him antisocial for the most part, but Harry quickly deduced it was all an act for his public life.

First of all, he asked Harry, "What was Peeves talking about with Lupin and chewing gum?"

He and Neville exchanged looks, and Harry said, "We passed by Peeves, who was shoving chewing gum into a keyhole, started calling him, 'loony loopy Lupin,' and so Lupin used 'Waddiwasi.'"

Snape smirked. After a moment, he turned to Neville and asked, "By the way, Mr. Longbottom, if you don't mind me asking, you seem to be able to remember a lot lately. I was wondering about that myself... perhaps you can figure out why?"

Neville looked somewhat surprised at this question, but thought about it thoroughly. "I dunno... but, ever since that night in Riddle Manor, when I somehow built up immunity to the Cruciatus Curse, I've been remembering things that I don't seem to remember before in my sleep... I don't know if you want to hear it..."

"Go on," Snape urged him. "I just want to know why your memory improves now, of all times."

Harry frowned at the barb, which Neville ignored. "I'm a year old, in a crib..." he began, closing his eyes. "A man and a woman are in a corner, their bodies moving in an uncomfortable way, screaming... a woman is laughing and a wand is pointed at me... I feel pain... then I hear what sounds like 'Obliviate.'"

An uncomfortable sort of silence descended as Neville stopped. Harry was positively revulsed; Lestrange must have been out of her skull back then, if she got pleasure from casting the Cruciatus Curse on an infant. Snape was deep in thought, and he actually looked a little repulsed. "This is only a theory, Mr. Longbottom, but both the Cruciatus Curse and the Memory Charm affect the nervous system. The Memory Charm affected your memory to the point it became a problem, where you would forget bits of information, like where you left objects or facts and figures for classes. You somehow built immunity to the Cruciatus Curse, and that undid the mental block in place by the Memory Charm."

There was silence, that is, until Luna spoke up. "That makes sense, I suppose. One book that my mother used to own was about Spell Theory, and how spells which affected the same parts of the human body could have strange effects on each other. I'm pretty sure it covered something like that on a chapter about the nervous system."

"In the meantime, that actually brings up an interesting idea, the fact that your hardships in my classes were contributed to this mental block," Snape went on, sounding a little amused. "I am offering to tutor you in Potions, Mr. Longbottom, as long as you keep up the excellent work with the Herbology. I'm sure we can balance the time between the research and the tutoring."

Harry felt the strange desire to whip out his wand and say, "Okay, what have you done with the real Snape?"

Neville nodded in a confident way, possibly made braver by the fact that Snape really didn't kill people's pets. "Good," Snape confirmed. Later tonight at 7:00, while Mr. Potter is helping me brew a healing salve."

And with that, lunch resumed as no more questions were asked.

~*~*~*~

That afternoon, Snape and Harry meet in a dueling chamber. There were all sorts of distance markings and such, and after Snape and Harry took their locations, a relative short distance away from each other, Snape began the lesson.

"Since Professor Lupin is helping you and your classmates get caught up with Dark objects, we will be reviewing defensive spells that might have been covered last year if you had a decent professor."

Harry nodded. "You know, I think I just realized another reason why I wanted to resolve all these problems with you; within a month, Umbridge had officially replaced you as Hogwarts' Most Loathed Professor. So, as a result, my dislike was diverted away from you."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "The nerve of her. I work long and hard for years, keeping students in line with scare tactics and designed to make them think fast on their feet, and she usurps me with her horrible voice and pointless theory books."

Harry smirked at Snape's sense of humor. The latter's humor was like fine wine; it was an acquired taste.

"So, one spell that is N.E.W.T. level is the Titan Block. With your palms outwards, form a 'V' with your thumbs, so your hands make a 'W' shape. Have the wand held in between your thumbs."

As Harry positioned his wand the right way, Snape asked, "Ready?' Harry nodded, prepared, and Snape fired a Silver Dart Curse at him.

An orange dome appeared around Harry, and as the darts vanished as they made contact, leaving little ripples as though the orange bubble absorbed them

"Good," Snape commented. "Another spell is Grand Flecture, a spell to repel anything physical around you. If timed correctly and the physical objects in question are the right distance away from you, you can avoid one thing, or many, being thrown at you. You could avoid being crushed by falling objects or run over by incoming objects. You could even use it to make a path as you divert physical objects to either side of you." (4)

"You mean if I want to, say, split water and make a path?" Harry asked, thinking of the tale of Moses and the Red Sea.

Snape nodded. "Indeed, that would work."

Harry quietly laughed a little. Snape conjured several bricks, and while floating them in midair between them, he said, "I will aim these at you. The incantation is 'Hovequanta.'"

Harry nodded, and waving his wand, Snape projected the bricks at Harry. "Hovequanta," Harry said, and the bricks scattered away from him.

"Excellent work," Snape said, Vanishing the bricks. For the rest of the lesson, Snape took up the notch with those two particular spells. After an hour, they were done when Harry used the Titan Block against a Pulverization Flame Curse and successfully used Grand Flecture against several large boulders, each the size of a small car.

"Impressive," Snape summed up. "I'm sure Professor Flitwick would agree with me on the fact you would succeed in a dueling tournament in a few years."

"Are there any?" Harry asked eagerly.

"There's an annual Wizards' Dueling Tournament held in Dublin every summer. Anyway, that concludes our lesson. I shall see how your friends are doing with the research. I'll see you tonight at 7:00. You may leave now."

"Thank you, sir, good-bye." And with that, Harry left to get some more reading done.

~*~*~*~

Harry spent the rest of the afternoon reading up on Transfiguration. Of all the subjects he took, he ranked them in the order of difficulty he had for them, so he would read more of something the more difficult it was.

As 7:00 drew near, he made his way to Snape's office. After a knock on the door and a curt, "Come in," Harry entered.

This room was about five times bigger than the Potions classroom at Hogwarts, and had about as many times as furniture, equipment and supplies. Snape was at one table at the front, with a workbench already set up for Harry. Neville was at another table, with fewer ingredients for what looked like a simpler potion.

"Mr. Potter, in order to brew a healing salve for my security squid, please follow the instructions very carefully." Harry nodded as Snape turned to Neville and said, "Mr. Longbottom, this potion is a Shrinking Solution, much like the one with your toad incident. Follow the instructions, and ask if you have help. It's not as though I'll be able to take points."

Harry and Neville exchanged looks, and with that, they both got to work. Snape was working at another desk, reading things with his back turned to the boys in the room. It was much quieter, and without the professor's gaze on them (and his gaze had a way of making people feel it), there was much less tension in the air. Incredibly, Neville's memory had improved to the point where he had remembered the process of making this potion from a few years ago. In fact, Neville only had to ask for help once, when that was in regards to which ingredient he should put in next. Snape pointed out which one, and also gave a helpful tip for potion- brewing, to put ingredients on the table in the same order in which they are needed.

"Impressive improvement," Snape declared at the end, which caused Neville to blush a little with pride. At that point, Harry was already done with the salve for the squid, which he bottled and corked for Snape.

"Once again, I am amazed at the improvement that seems to be contagious lately," Snape commented. "Excellent work. Dinner will be ready by the time both of you have cleaned up and washed up."

After closing the door, Snape was in deep thought. They had actually managed to apply themselves without him staring them down. Perhaps, Snape thought, they didn't understand the art of potion-making as well as he did. After all, wasn't it his job to teach them, rather than expect them to know it all from Day One? Maybe they weren't all Slytherins, who had the desire to learn and such. Maybe he needed a new approach to his teaching methods...

'What the hell has gotten into me!?' Snape thought, outraged at that last train of thought to drift through his head. That caring attitude certainly did not befit Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

'I swear, Potter is a virus, reaching out to everyone he meets,' Snape thought. 'All he needs is a shaft of light where he stands, and then his Golden Boy image would be perfect.'

Yet he felt a sort of feeling he hadn't had since he was a child in this very same house...

'I'll need to sort this all out later,' he mentally concluded.

~*~*~*~

Later, Harry was going through his photo album of his parents. His eyes were lingering on Sirius' happy face from the picture of his parents' wedding. He was such a cheerful, lively young man who should have gotten better than what life had dished out to him.

"Harry?"

His imagination must have been playing tricks on him, because for a moment, he probably thought it was Sirius. To his surprise (and somewhat strange relief), it was really just Snape.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"First of all, excellent job on the potion," Snape said.

"Thanks."

"Why so jumpy, anyway? Conspiring something?"

"No, of course not, definitely not in your house."

Snape had glided over to where Harry was sitting, and looked at the picture of the Potters' wedding. Harry saw his guardian's eyes land on Sirius, and Harry could see the hate deep in there.

"One thing that I've never understood," Snape continued, "Is what it was you saw in your godfather."

"Well," Harry began, "He cared about me, he was my parents' best friend, my godfather, and he was innocent."

'Of course,' Snape thought to himself. 'Back then, the pre- adolescent Potter would have jumped at the opportunity for any family member to whisk him away from the Dursleys.'

Snape silently walked over to the window, staring out into the young night. "Even before you revealed to the press exactly how you helped Black escape, I knew that you did it and Dumbledore helped. Up until that night, I thought Dumbledore was just trying to cater to you in order to mold you into the appropriate form and attitude. Of course, all that was shattered the night Black returned."

"Sirius was innocent," Harry reminded him, a little miffed.

"Yes, I know that now," Snape went on, ignoring Harry's comment. "But sometimes I wonder if it would have made any difference whether Black was innocent or not. I wonder if Dumbledore would have still let you rescue him, whether or not it was truly the right thing to do."

"If Sirius really was guilty, I would have been on your side and everyone else's, with the same 'toss him to the dementors' attitude. Besides, even Dumbledore might have his limitations with how much he's willing to sacrifice for me, right?"

Snape turned to him, a pensive expression on his face. "I think, Harry," he said slowly, "His devotion and concern for you knows no bounds and acknowledges no risks." With a sigh, Snape sat down across from Harry and started on something else.

"Before I started teaching at Hogwarts, I used to travel a lot and work with alchemists and such in other countries. For a time, I studied with a circle of alchemists in Arabia, who were probably as good at telling stories as they were with potion brewing. There's one that always sticks out in my mind, about Lucifer, the Lightbringer."

"The angel who became the devil?"

"The one and the same. This story was before he fell. According to the tale, after Adam and his family sinned, Lucifer went to God and denounced the humans, arguing that they had betrayed God's trust, because they had violated His divine plan and broken its rules. However, Lucifer had miscalculated."

"How?"

"He had assumed that Adam and his children were to be like the angels, as in the servants to carry out God's plan, when in fact, they were only meant to be children, and just that. The speech God made is what always sticks in my mind."

"Lucifer, Lightbringer, most glorious of Angels, you are the greatest of my servants, the most faithful of my creations. You have never veered from my commands. Ever you have obeyed my will. Now you come before me and speak the truth about Adam and his family, for they have defied me. They flout my will, they ignore my commands. In their hands my Plan for creation comes to naught

"And yet I say to you Lucifer, Lightbringer, that were you ten thousand times as glorious, and they ten thousand times as vile, yet would they still stand in my esteem as far above you as the stars stand from the earth. For you are a servant, whose duty it is to obey my commands and carry forth my plans, and that is all you shall ever be. And Adam and his descendants are my children, who shall inherit my kingdom, and nothing will displace them from that right. For that is the nature of the servant and the child, of the master and the father. And now it is given unto you that you shall remain and accept your lot, and the rights of my children, or you shall depart from me into the darkness never to return.

"And I say further unto you Lucifer, Lightbringer, most faithful and glorious of Angels, that because you speak out of ignorance this once do I forgive you. But should you dare ever again to slander my children before me I will put you forth from my presence with my own hand, and neither your deeds nor your obedience shall stay my judgment. For it is not meet that a father should suffer his child to be slandered by a servant, even one such as you." (5)

A strange sort of silence followed this tale as Snape closed his eyes. "At times, I have tried to convince the Headmaster that you can be as fragile and as weak at the rest of us, although he always kept giving me that look for trying to make him come to his senses. It was a look of contempt and disappointment, like some angry god, which I imagine to be the same look God gave Lucifer during that speech after Lucifer told God how Adam was flawed."

Something then clicked in Harry's memory, something about an angry god. "Professor, Lupin showed me his memory from that night where Lupin lost his temper and raged at Dumbledore. It continued to where you gave him the Wolfsbane Potion, and you said something about Dumbledore giving an 'angry god' look. Was that what you meant?"

Snape had opened his eyes again. "Yes it was. I'm surprised Dumbledore didn't rescind his offer for Lupin to teach again after that tirade, let alone give him the 'angry god' look. But as Dumbledore told us later, after all the things that happened to you in spite of his efforts to protect you, he deserved a lot more than that."

Harry felt a pang at his heart. The fact that Dumbledore actually liked him, not in the sense of being a favorite student or a hero, but just for who he was, touched some corner of Harry's heart that had been sealed off at an early age.

"How did you manage to make amends with Lupin anyway?" Harry asked.

Snape sighed. "I got into a verbal fight with him after your godfather's death. He was lamenting about how horrible it was that it happened... maybe you should just see for yourself."

Harry relaxed his eyes and focused deep into Snape's eyes, and the memory began...

~*~*~*~

Harry had the sensation he was in Snape's body, walking down a passageway in Grimmauld Place, where he heard Lupin moaning in sorrow.

"And the lone wolf is alone once again," Snape jeered. "Maybe the dog should have just stayed in the kennel, but he never learned obedience in school, did he?"

Lupin's head jerked up, and he was looking at Snape with rage written all over his face. "You manipulative grease ball!" he screamed.

"That's rich, coming from a savage beast with gray-streaked hair," Snape responded smoothly.

"What the hell would you know!?" Lupin roared. "I bet you didn't have to grow up in a rotten childhood! I bet your parents didn't reject you from an early age for what you were! You had your own little set of friends, so why the hell did you keep tailing us? Oh wait, I know, just to expose me for what I was!"

Snape froze. "If that's what you honestly think, Lupin, then you're dumber than you look, and that's saying something," he snarled. "Let me correct you and your delusional theories. First of all, my father hated me for not possessing magical talent at an early age, and had to wait until I was eight years old, and both before then and after then, he made me suffer because I developed it when I did. He eventually drove my mother to kill herself. And in case you didn't notice Lupin, and considering your enhanced werewolf senses, I'm surprised you didn't, I only ended up being friends with those so-called 'junior Death Eaters,' because they tried to help me that after that night where you nearly ripped me apart. And no, I wasn't trying to spy on you to expose you and run you out of Hogwarts."

Lupin was staring in silent shock for the most part of Snape's revelations. At the last sentence, he said sarcastically, "Then why were you constantly trying to see where we went every month during the full moon? To be our friend or something?"

There was a stuffy silence as Lupin's face switched to shock again. "You wanted to be our friend?" he asked hoarsely.

"Of course I did, you fool!" Snape scoffed. "You had popularity, friends, decent lives and everything; I had nothing but pain, misery, and sorrow in my life! But your almighty leader, the great James Potter, took one look at me and the Slytherin badge on my robes and deemed me to be his fool to push around and play pranks on, and his merry band of idiots, you included, all followed suit! Day after day for seven years, I endured you and put up with you, only because the teachers were too antipathetic to do anything about it! And even now, the great Gryffindor James Potter isn't dead, because he continues to rip my life apart through his son!"

"Leave Harry out of this!" Lupin snarled. "He's not your stress relief outlet! For a thirty-five year old adult, you're acting like an immature little kid who got pushed a little!"

"Well, where were all the adults when I needed them?" Snape countered angrily. "Or other figures of authority, for that matter? Especially you, oh failure of a prefect! You're a goddamn hypocrite, Lupin, like when Potter hung me upside-down in front of everyone! You only did that to save your own lycanthrope skin; once I had actually found friends who actually looked out for me, those things never happened to begin with! Ever wonder why I started being friends with people like Bellatrix Black? If it wasn't for her, I would have been your prank target until the end of our N.E.W.T.s! And because of the debt I owed her, it became easy to sway me to Voldemort's side! It all comes back to you, you monster. You're worse than other werewolves, because you were always ruining my life, regardless of the moon's phases!"

"So what do you want?" Lupin shot back. "If you want the Defense job, take it if it will erase all the pain in your life!"

"YOU UTTER FOOL!" Snape screamed, causing Lupin to take quite a few steps back. Snape, in the meantime, was advancing on the sandy-haired man, as oncoming as the bottled-up stress he had been carrying for years. "I never wanted that position; I only kept applying because it gave me an alibi to look as though I hated Dumbleodre! (6) The only reason I was so eager to fill in for you was because I wanted to embarrass you and humiliate you and show you for what you were, you untrustworthy, flea- bitten mongrel! At least I work hard, unlike you, especially while putting my life on the line to spy on the Dark Lord and risk everything and being in danger of God-knows-what, and to top it all off while brewing YOU the potion to make sure you don't go eating any of the students! I purposely don't tell you about the things I suffer as a Hogwarts professor or an Order spy, because I DON'T WANT YOUR PITY!"

Snape was breathing heavily, his long fingers flexing as though wanting to strangle Lupin. Lupin actually looked genuinely afraid.

"There," Snape spat. "You've undergone humiliation and unpopularity in your life; I bet you'd simply LOVE to go spreading that around as to lower us to the same level again. You've always been the high and mighty Gryffindor, trying to downplay us Slytherins. At least we have the brains and the determination to get somewhere in life, and actually make a difference. You might be brave enough to sleep soundly in your own bed at night, even when someone might come to attack you; I'm the one who actually does all the work in the shadows to make sure it never comes to that."

Lupin looked as though he had just doubled in age from all the grief and guilt he felt. "Severus, I-"

"Don't," Snape said flatly.

"What I mean is," Lupin said in a confessing tone, "The Hat considered me for Slytherin."

Snape blinked. "What?"

"Actually, it considered me for all four Houses. Gryffindor for the bravery I had with my condition, Hufflepuff for my passive nature, Ravenclaw for my devotion for studying, and Slytherin for my determination to get somewhere in this society that would undoubtedly hate me for what I am. It was a narrow choice between Slytherin and Gryffindor, but in the end, it decided Gryffindor would be best, in case my secret ever got out."

There was a pause, and suddenly, the memory vanished there.

~*~*~*~

...Harry blinked and shook his head as Snape forced him back out. "And so," Snape concluded, a little anxiety still in his voice from reliving that memory, "Even though we were never verbal about it, it was sort of an unspoken agreement made between us."

Harry was still recovering from the fury he had witnessed. That was definitely one of Snape's angrier times, up there with the night Sirius escaped and when his privacy in the Pensieve had been invaded.

"I understand," Harry said. "In a way, Professor, you're something of a hero. The rest of the world just can't know about it yet."

That one statement caught Snape off guard. He had never expected someone to simply praise him like that. "I doubt I'd qualify as a glory-seeker, Harry," he said, a little ruffled.

"Cho told me once that there's a fine line between the hero and the celebrity. The celebrity does it for the glory, the hero does it, because it's the right thing to do. The rest of the wizarding world considers me to be a celebrity because all they see is the glory."

Snape marveled once again at Harry's maturity. The wizarding world had always been rather one-dimensional about Harry's status in society. In one-dimension, there was only the line, and either they were going one way with praising him, or going the other way with shunning him.

There was a knock on the door, and Neville popped his head in. "Uh, hi. Sorry, but I heard you talking, and I didn't want to disturb anything."

"That's perfectly fine, Mr. Longbottom," Snape said calmly. "Good thinking, by the way."

"Thank you, sir," Neville said as he passed through to his own room.

"It's getting late anyway," Snape continued, turning back to Harry. "I'll see you tomorrow, Harry."

"Okay, and thanks for talking to me," Harry replied. "Good night, Severus."

"Good night."

Later, while Harry was lying in bed, he thought about how people didn't realize how they could work with each other until after the fact. Then again, it was sort of the reason why Dumbledore so frequently gave people second chances; because they learn from their mistakes that way. People are more inclined to do what's right after seeing what can happen if they do what's wrong.

With a long yawn, Harry went to sleep.

~*~*~*~

Snape was walking back to the dining room to get something to drink when he saw Dumbledore waiting there for him. "What is it, Albus?" the younger man asked.

"Why nothing, I just wanted to witness the miracle of you and Harry being able to peacefully coexist in the same house for at least twenty-four hours," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.

"Touché, Albus, touché," Snape commented dryly. "Of course, since he now has an official guardian and family, that means I'll have to protect him from any manipulative outside forces, ranging from those who indulge in the Dark Arts to those whose breaths smell like lemon candies."

The message wasn't lost on Dumbledore. "Really, Severus, I merely try to protect him against Voldemort," he said as though it were an easy, normal task which the common man could do. "Besides, the legal details of his guardianship have always been hazy, so it was left to me to decide whose care to place him in. In another way, and not just as Headmaster, I am responsible for him."

"Anyway, if you're here to make sure he's sleeping in a bedroom and not in the dungeons, I can assure you that is the case."

"I never doubted you, Severus," Dumbledore said, smiling. "How goes it with the gardener and the zoologist?"

He was obviously alluding to Neville and Luna respectively. "Miss Lovegood certainly has the right mind for it, Ravenclaw or not. She also mentioned to ask among the student body, mainly which members of last year's D.A., know about the Room of Requirement. The only members from that which graduated last year were the Weasley twins, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet, but even still, we should ask everyone and double check."

"Excellent thinking on both your part and hers, Severus," Dumbledore replied. "I shall visit certain families this weekend, which would be a good opportunity. And how's Mr. Longbottom doing?"

"Even better, since his memory has improved. He might even teach Vertumno a thing or two by the end of the week. Speaking of his memory..." and Snape related the whole conversation to Dumbledore.

At first, the Headmaster was disgusted by the thought of Death Eaters using Unforgivable Curses on infants, but he quickly tried to shrug it off as best as he could.

"Aha," Dumbledore smiled. "So no more melted cauldrons for you, I take it?"

"I suppose not," Snape smiled back, giving one of the few rare non-evil smiles anyone ever saw.

~*~*~*~

The next day, Harry spent the morning teaching Mark some dueling and spells, but without actually causing any harm. By the end their two- hour session together, Mark knew five new spells, each of which he would practice eagerly.

It was an hour before lunch Mark asked, "Harry, could you please help me brush up on my flying?"

"I didn't know you had a broom."

"Yeah," Mark said eagerly, "A Nimbus 2000."

"Ah," Harry said, smiling, "My first broomstick was one of those. Anyway, do you think your father will let us outside?"

"I'll go ask," Mark said, dashing off. Around a corner, Harry heard him ask Snape. There were footsteps, and Snape came up to Harry, and said, "I may trust you with a lot of things, Harry, but I can trust you with being able to help my son with his flying without any injuries? That means no lion pounces."

Harry really couldn't blame Snape for asking that. "Of course."

"Good. There's a courtyard/field adjacent to the gardens and paddocks. Just try not to distract your friends."

"Yes, Professor." With that, Harry and Mark went back to their separate rooms to get their own broomsticks. As Snape watched them go, he realized that his enmity with James Potter could have been worse; if he had invented his own Quidditch move, Potter Sr. would have never stopped bragging about it, and Snape probably would have gone and done something to Potter Sr. worthy of expulsion.

Harry and Mark flew around until lunch, practicing standard novice moves. It turned out that Mark was aiming to be the Seeker next year, and Harry gladly offered him his own expertise. Both of them had just pulled out of a tricky dive together when Snape said, using the Sonorus Charm, "If you didn't have all the wind rushing by your ears, you would have heard Dormiel call you for lunch!"

Both of them looked at each other, and descended back to the ground laughing. As they went to put their broomsticks back, Snape muttered, "Quietus," and sat himself down at the end of the table.

~*~*~*~

Much to Harry's strange surprise, and even disappointment, the week passed in a blur of research, studying, and flying. A couple of times, he helped out Neville and Luna in the gardens and paddocks respectively. Outdoor parts of the property were quite beautiful, designed for the maximum living conditions of Snape's plants and animals.

On Friday afternoon, right after lunch, Snape called all four students to attention. "I will be having the rest of the Hogwarts staff over for a meeting to discuss some important issues which you need not concern yourselves with. I suggest you find something to do outside and stick with it. I will let Dormiel notify you when it is over, and if you have any questions to ask the professors for reasons such as homework, I'm sure they'll stay for a few moments. I hope I don't need to stress the importance of not eavesdropping or suddenly appearing in this room," he finished, his gazed fixated on Harry momentarily. "Good. Anyway, they should be here within a few minutes, which is enough time to get together whatever you need. You are dismissed."

Neville and Luna went to get their notebooks while Harry and Mark got their broomsticks. A few minutes later, they were all doing their activities as the teachers appeared by Portkeys and walked inside.

~*~*~*~

Once everyone had settled down and Dormiel had served everyone their desired drinks, business was underway. New security measures were discussed. It seemed that the intrepid Hermione Granger and a few other Muggle-born students had suggested installing alarms like the fire alarms found in Muggle schools. The Muggle Studies Professor, a thin woman named Norma Mundania, had drawn and passed around diagrams of the original Muggle devices and the proposed magical versions for Hogwarts. (7)

"Excellent thinking, Norma," Dumbledore commented while swapping a few lemon drops with Flitwick, who was trading him a few sugar mice. 'What is it with them and sugary sweets?' Snape thought. 'I'm surprised their teeth haven't rotted out at this rate.'

"However, since fires really aren't a problem at Hogwarts, I was thinking about naming them 'terror alarms' or 'invasion alarms.'"

"Why not 'crisis alarms?'" Flitwick suggested. "We've seen all kinds of crises this year, from graffiti to attacks on the teachers themselves. No offense, Remus," he quickly added.

"None taken, Filius," Lupin replied calmly.

"It shouldn't matter what they're called, as long as they work properly," Snape pointed out.

"Of course, Severus, of course," Mundania reassured him.

Suddenly, two shadows flew over the tabletop. There was a window directly above the table, the same exact size, in fact. Looking up, Hagrid asked, "What's that?"

Snape looked up. "Oh, that would be my son, Marcus." (While the students at Hogwarts weren't supposed to know about their teachers' families, the staff knew.)

"No, the one with the Muggle clothes," Hagrid corrected him.

"Mr. Potter," Snape said, prepared for their reactions.

There was general shock as McGonagall asked, "I knew you settled some problems with him, but why is he here at your manor?"

After glancing at Dumbledore and receiving an affirmative nod from his employer, Snape decided to drop the bombshell, or so the Muggle saying went. "Because I adopted him, although I do not wish to make that public knowledge, for safety's sake, of course."

Snape watched with a perverse kind of pleasure as almost every colleague of his did an impression of an open-mouthed halibut. (8) Finally, Lupin asked, "How in Merlin's name did that happen?"

"Because I'm related to him through his mother's side," Snape said, pulling out the chart and passing it around. After Snape got it back, he put it back and said, "Before we resume the matters we're here to discuss, I would like to say one thing." Turning to McGonagall, he said, "Minerva, don't take this as some act where I'll start tolerating every Gryffindor or I've automatically forgiven his father for what he's done; I only did this because Harry's life has been miserable and because he needs someone to help him. Remus, this doesn't mean I'll prevent you from ever seeing him again outside of school, or vice versa. Rubeus, I can assure you he'll be as safe as any dragon hatchling you happen to have a fondness for."

McGonagall looked a little surprised at being told this by a former student, but she nodded with understanding. The same held true for Lupin and Hagrid, although there was scattered laughing at the reference to the half-giant's soft side for creatures considered to be highly dangerous by most people.

After the meeting ended and Dormiel had called to the flying pair of boys, Harry and Mark had landed, where they were eagerly greeted by the staff. Harry got a few comments about being taken into Snape's custody, but he was able to still smile about it.

After they had all left, Snape commented, "I haven't seen all of them this happy all at once since I destroyed Mrs. Black's portrait."

Harry did a double take. "You did? How?"

"A Killing Curse, although I don't advise you do that to every portrait you can't get rid of," Snape said. "I just got tired of hearing it scream all the time."

"Didn't we all?" Harry asked rhetorically. "Anyway, what happened once it got hit with a Killing Curse?"

"It crumbled into dust and revealed a lockbox behind it. It was full of old potions manuals, with potions theories that wizards have thought about for ages. Things like giving magic to Squibs, curing lycanthropy, even curing people psychologically affected by the Cruciatus Curse. Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go before I pull together all the information I need."

"Maybe I can help," Harry offered.

"Do you have centuries-old manuals?" Snape questioned, half- expecting Harry to answer in the negative.

He was greatly surprised when Harry smiled. "As a matter of fact, I do. Dumbledore showed me my family vault, and there are lots of old tomes and stuff."

Snape shook his head. "The basilisk, the Room of Requirement... you're never short on surprises, are you?"

Harry sighed. "Unfortunately, I always seem to be a little too talented in that regard. So, when do you want to go?"

"Now would be good. You should get your cloak; we might make an awkward pair, and as your guardian, I can't put your safety at risk."

"Okay, I'll get it after I put my Firebolt away." As Harry returned to his room, Snape called Dormiel to tell the other three students that he and Harry had business to attend to, and they would be back within the hour.

~*~*~*~

Harry and Snape both Apparated in front of Gringotts bank. After Harry showed his key to the goblins, he and Snape were led by an unfamiliar goblin through the caverns on a rickety cart.

Before Harry opened his vault, he turned to Snape and said, "I know my father's, er, advantages in life kind of irked you, so..."

"Not a problem, Potter," Snape said swiftly and curtly.

Harry shrugged and opened the vault. Ignoring Snape's looks of awe at the wealth (he could see his guardian's facial muscles move), he walked over to the packages marked "Books, Scrolls, and Tomes."

The goblin that chaperoned them with the cart walked up and opened the packages (the goblins had been left instructions to handle the items in the vault, as Harry was still underage). After Harry told the goblin what kinds of informational texts that he and Snape were there for, the goblin immediately skimmed through them before finding those texts.

Once again, Snape was dumbstruck by the value of something Harry had found. "Hardly any of the best Potions Masters in Europe other than me have copies of these!" he breathed. Turning to Harry, he asked, "I suppose I'll have to ask for your permission to borrow these?"

"If I can trust you with my life, then I suppose I can trust you with these books," Harry responded simply.

"Point taken," Snape responded, taking out a small enchanted lockbox (not the one from Grimmauld Place). He enlarged it, deposited the books in it, shrank it, put it away, and with that, they left.

~*~*~*~

Later that evening, Snape told Harry that the Telamoric Potion was ready. He and Ginny had already contributed blood samples, so that wasn't a problem. Snape would secretly deliver the potion to Ginny in person later after dinner.

Snape sent a letter ahead with Aurigo at 9:00, telling her to meet him in the back garden of her house at 9:30. After giving his owl a half-hour's head start, Snape departed from his manor and Disapparated.

After taking a ten-minute walk through Ottery St. Catchpole, Snape waited in the back gardens of the Burrow. The highlight of the quick excursion was when he nearly tripped on the crater that Harry had left after he had accidentally crash-landed in the garden.

Snape silently waited. One way he had learned to pass time was to recite potions procedures in his head. Finally, Aurigo was flying back to him, the letter trailing from his claws, with Ginny Weasley in hot pursuit. One way to definitely draw Ginny away from the watchful eyes of her family was to have Aurigo snatch it back and fly out with it. The letter wasn't that long, but a hidden postscript told Ginny to follow along the for the sake of maintaining a convincing act.

"Hello, Miss Weasley," Snape said, stepping out from behind a tree. Ginny gasped while Aurigo settled itself on Snape's shoulder, like some travesty of a pirate and his parrot, or perhaps a hunter and his falcon. After giving his eagle owl an Owl Treat, he then extricated the small package from his robes and gave it to Ginny. "Drink at the stroke of midnight," he instructed, handing it to her as she thanked him profusely. "It will take forty-eight hours to take effect. By the way, do you think it may be wise to tell at least one member of your family about this?"

Ginny shook her head, and for the first time, Snape saw how distract she really was. "Not now," she told him, "Not these days, because, because..." she gasped and put her face in her hands.

"Really, what happened?" Snape asked, with a sinking feeling that this couldn't be good.

Looking him straight in the eye with an extremely sad look on her face, she now said, "Because now they hate Harry."

(End of Chapter 32.)

A/N: Well, another one of my cliffhangers. Hurrah!

There are two kinds of heroes in this story: those who fight the open battles (like Harry) and those who work behind the scenes to undermine the enemy from the inside (like Snape). However, Snape will get his chance to shine soon enough...

This story is also kind of a study of good vs. evil, and all the layers in between. Besides, in a war, no one goes unaffected.

(1) Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that all Slytherins are good actors/actresses. Besides, it never says in canon that Pansy Parkinson has ties to Death Eaters or is supportive of Voldemort.

(2) (Author laughs in a sinister way.) You'll see who, or what, Bellatrix has become, since Snape will have to ultimately deal with it! ;)

(3) I have no idea what sort of properties all these magical plants have; besides, all this stuff is made-up from Rowling's imagination anyway, right?

(4) MAJOR thanks to GreenGecko for allowing me to use the Titan Block and Grand Flecture from her story "Resonance," which she traded to me for the Weight-Increasing Hex I came up with. (However, it should also be noted that I tweaked the holding technique for the Titan Block in this story.)

(5) MAJOR thanks to Dzeytoun for allowing me use this passage from his story, "The Sorrows of Lucifer"! He said I could after I drew that illustration for his story. (If anyone wants to see the picture I drew, the link is in my user profile at www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net.)

(6) I know at the beginning of chapter 13, Snape tells Harry something slightly different. That's because Snape has only been telling Harry little tidbits of the truth, strictly on a need-to-know basis. See, it's not as though Snape has been opening up to Harry from the start.

(7) If you can't figure out the roots of this name in fifteen seconds, you might want to brush up on your vocabulary more. Her name comes from the words "normal" and "mundane."

(8) Thanks to Roald Dahl and "Matilda" for the simile!

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