Title: Aberrations of Love and Hate
Author: HPStrangelove
Team: Dragon
Genre(s): Alternate Reality
Prompt(s): Ritual, Inheritance
Rating: NC-17
Warning/Kinks: *Character Death but not Snape or Harry, Frottage, Harry is 17 in part of the fic, Child Abuse, Insinuations of child sexual abuse, Bondage, NonCon, Mention of Spanking, Mention of Piercing, Mention of het, Mention of HP/DM, Non-graphic Rape*
Word Count: 58,705
Summary: Harry Evans knew he should hate Severus Snape for what he was doing to him. No matter what words Snape made Harry say as far as choice went, Snape was still effectively forcing Harry to have sex with him, or so Snape thought. But as far as Harry was concerned, it couldn't be considered force if he wanted and enjoyed all the wonderfully depraved things Snape did to him.
A/N: This story is dedicated to my lovely sister, Bella, and to Felicity Bowden, both of whom provided valuable feedback. I owe a special thanks to Ms. Bowden for the information on the Royal Free Hospital.
Thank you also to my betas: rakina for Brit Pick and SPAG, joanwilder for SPAG — especially for teaching me about the past perfect tense and open-ended dialogue rules — and plot, and for being such a wonderful team captain. Thank you to the entire Dragon Team for providing information and support, and to djin7 and the mods for all of their hard work.
In regards to the story: I reference a book, Billy Budd, by Herman Melville. Billy Budd is a story about a man falsely accused of plotting a mutiny and accidentally killing the officer who accuses him. The book debates the idea of what justice is. I must thank LJ user kibatsu, author of the Snarry fic Nights of Gethsemane, for introducing me to this book.
Lastly, I want to thank you, the reader. I realize this story is one of the longer fics in the Games. I hope that when you finish reading, you don't feel that I have wasted your time. Because this is an Alternate Reality, a few things might be initially confusing. I chose the AR Genre so I could make the characters the way I wanted them to be instead of the way JK wanted them to be. The Dursleys are loving towards Harry. There are no Weasleys — the Malfoys take their place in my AR. Tom Riddle is the same age as Lily and Severus. Lily's and Severus' birth dates remain as in canon, but Harry is born in 1982, not 1980, in order to fit my timeline. The remaining changes should become apparent as you read.

Aberrations of Love and Hate

Part I — The Hogwarts Years

Scene 1: Betrayals

Severus spoke in an icy voice. "Apparently the rumors of your cheating were true. I never would have believed it, but now I see you for the whore you really are."

"Severus! What are you doing here?" Lily asked, her stomach churning from the unexpected confrontation. He was the last person she expected to see today.

"I received owls telling me you were going out behind my back, sleeping around. I can see now...how many months pregnant are you?" he demanded.

"Seven," she whispered, looking down. She couldn't stand to see the pain in his eyes.

"Do you even know who the father is?" he sneered.

"You have no right to ask me that question. You were the one who started dating your study partner. Why should I wait around for you? You left me first!" she retorted angrily.

"Where did you get that idea?" he asked, surprised by the accusation.

"I...you...when you went to Central America. You started going out with another student, and you became study partners...and lovers. Didn't you?" The suspicion that she'd been deceived started to take shape in her mind.

"That's partially true," he stated tersely. "I did become partners with another student, but we were only friends. His name is James Potter, and we're still friends now, but never once did I ever," his voice rose, anger and hurt burning inside him, "consider cheating on you, as attractive and tempting as he may have been. It's too bad the same can't be said for you!"

"I'm sorry, Severus. I don't know what to say. I thought...." It didn't matter now anyway. Better that she send him away hating her, than to hurt him more, watching as she....

"Severus! What are you doing here?" It was Petunia. She'd just come up the stairs. Severus was still standing outside the open door to Lily's flat. Lily had been so shocked to see him that she hadn't thought to ask him in.

"Don't worry, Petunia," he replied dryly, getting himself under control. "My business here is through. I was just leaving." And he turned, striding down the hallway, and out of Lily's life, forever.

Lily struggled to move, to run after him, but she was paralyzed. She couldn't breathe, couldn't make her muscles obey. "No, wait!" she wanted to call. "Don't go! Please. I still love you. Tom lied to me! He told me you didn't want me anymore! He said you had a lover. Please, Severus! Don't leave me...I love you...." But she couldn't get the words to come out of her mouth.

Lily's eyes were closed and everything was black; tears were streaming down her face from beneath her closed lids. With a gasp, she opened her eyes and reached out into the darkness.

Baby Harry began to cry, disturbed by her movement and shouting as she woke from the nightmare.

Quickly, she picked him up from where he lay next to her, and began rocking back and forth to soothe him.

"It's okay, Harry, it's okay...I'm sorry. Mummy didn't mean to wake you...it's okay. Don't worry...everything's going to be all right...."

If only she could believe that what she'd told Harry was true.

"You're looking like you're feeling better this morning. How did you sleep?"

"Not bad, Tuney. I...I had one of those dreams, but I got Harry back to sleep quickly. I know I shouldn't let him sleep with me, but...it helps."

Harry was sitting on Lily's lap, smiling up at Petunia when she walked towards them.

"Does he need changing? I can give him his bottle if you'd like."

"Thanks, Tuney. I do have a few things to take care of, and this morning would be a good time since I have some energy. I don't know how many more days like this I'll be blessed with."

Petunia ground her teeth together. She would not think about it! If she did, she would start to cry and that would upset Lily. The last thing Lily needed right now was to get upset.

Petunia took Harry from her. "That's my big boy, come to Aunt Tuney. We're going to change that nappy, then get a little something for breakfast. How's that for a plan this morning?"

At six weeks Harry was on the small side, but the doctor had said he was gaining weight at a good pace, so not to worry. He was a happy baby and only cried when he was placed in his crib. Lily had given up trying to leave him there overnight, opting instead to let him sleep next to her on nights when she felt well enough to sleep. Those nights were occurring less frequently, and more nights than not found Harry sleeping next to Petunia instead. Petunia wondered how that would work out once she and Vernon were married, but Vernon assured her she could do whatever was best for Harry.

She wished she could help Lily with the dreams, but that was Lily's private hell. How Petunia hated Severus for what he'd done to Lily. She didn't know the entire story, but she knew enough — he had hurt Lily, deserted her for another, according to Tom Riddle. Tom had confided in Petunia when he found out Severus and his study partner, James Potter, had become lovers. She knew Severus was a slimy snake — all Slytherins were. Although she had to admit, Tom was the exception to the rule.

Lily and Tom had been such good friends once; she wouldn't even see him now. They'd had a falling out and Lily refused to say why. Petunia was sure it was Severus' fault. It was after he'd come to see Lily that last time, back in June, that Lily would no longer speak to Tom.

Petunia had always liked Tom and couldn't understand why Lily wanted Severus instead. Tom was good looking and charming in every way. Severus was quiet and moody, rarely talking if he didn't have to. Some might consider him attractive in a dark and dangerous way, but she hated the way he treated Lily. He'd never told her he cared. He'd never told her he missed her in all those years he was away. And then to take on a lover — well, she'd told Tom that it was only fair Lily should know. And maybe, Petunia had thought, Lily would finally see that Tom really loved her, loved her in a way that Severus never could.

But it hadn't worked out that way. Petunia cursed the night of her twenty-fifth birthday. She should have seen how depressed Lily was, she should have insisted the party be canceled. Lily wouldn't hear of it though. No, Petunia had had a grand time, never even noticing when the stranger and Lily left the club. If only...if only...so many 'if onlys'.

Holding baby Harry, though, it was hard to regret what had happened that night. He would soon be all that was left of her lovely sister.

She kissed the top of his head, and cried.

Lily had started on chemotherapy as soon as Harry was born, but it hadn't helped. It was obvious to all of them that she didn't have much time left. Lily spent her days holding Harry, staring into his eyes and talking to him about all the things he had to look forward to when he grew up. Lily was sure he'd inherit her magical abilities. She could feel little tingles of magic coming off of him as she held him against her heart. Tuney would love and raise him as her own; Vernon adored Harry too. If it weren't for Tuney taking care of her and baby Harry, Vernon and Tuney would have been married by now. But Vernon thought Lily needed Tuney more, so they'd postponed their wedding. They wouldn't have to wait much longer.

Lily had already taken care of organizing her most important memories that she needed to leave to Harry. They were safely stored in vials in her vault at Gringotts, and Harry would inherit everything once he turned eighteen. Until then, the vault would remain sealed; according to the contract, even the workers at Gringotts couldn't access the contents. It was the only way Lily felt she could extract and leave certain of her memories for Harry.

Today she had one last thing to do, although this thing wasn't for Harry. Today was the day she'd finally worked up the courage to write to Severus. She couldn't put it off any longer. If she did, she might not have another day where she had the physical or mental strength to write. So she began.

Dear Severus,

Please don't crumple this up and throw it away in anger. I know you hate me, probably even more so now that you know I didn't tell you I was dying. Please forgive me for that — I couldn't stand to have you watch as I wasted away. You never allow your feelings to show and you would have kept your pain locked up inside until it tore you apart. I couldn't stand to hurt you any more than I already have.

If I hadn't been dying, I would have fought to keep you in my life. As it was, it was easier to simply let you leave in anger over my indiscretion. I know I don't have the right to ask, but if you ever felt anything for me, grant me one last request.

I'm sure Harry is magical. I think he will be very powerful one day. Tiny as he is, I can feel pulses of magic coming from him when I hold him. Tuney and Vernon won't be able to help him, as much as they love him. If you are still teaching at Hogwarts when Harry starts there, please keep an eye on him and be there for him if he needs help. With my mother and father gone, and now me, there's no one left in the family to take on that responsibility. If Tuney, or even Vernon, were magical and could do it, I wouldn't ask this of you. But with Tuney a Squib and Vernon a Muggle, I don't have anyone else I can trust.

I do want you to know that I never stopped loving you. I'm not making excuses, but it was difficult, being away from you for four years. You rarely wrote to me, and when I heard you had a lover, I thought I had lost you for good.

Maybe it was because I had one drink too many, or maybe it was because he looked so much like you, that I gave in to temptation. It wasn't as if I went out every weekend picking up strangers and bringing them home to have sex, no matter what you were told. If I were the kind to sleep around, I might have been smart enough to use birth control and not end up pregnant. But in the heat of passion, those things often are forgotten.

I wish you well, Severus, and I hope you find someone to share your life with, the way we had always planned.

All my love,

Lily

Lily didn't want Severus to receive the letter until...afterward. She didn't want to face him, to see the anguish in his eyes the way she had the day she hadn't called him back to her.

How had things spiraled so out of control? Even without the cancer, the last four years had been an emotional roller coaster. They had been so close at Hogwarts, first as friends, then as — lovers? Lily thought that wasn't the correct term for it, since they'd only been intimate once, on that last night before Severus left for Durmstrang. How different would things have turned out if she'd gone with him? But she hadn't needed the extra years of study. She hadn't needed a Potions Master's Certification in order to make potions for her father.

When the first year went by with only a few letters from Severus, she didn't worry. Severus never was one to express his feelings in words, and his letters were no different. When he did write, it was about his daily routine — the teachers, the courses, the homework, the research — but never that he missed her or that he loved her.

Four years apart - the program was intense and difficult. Severus took every opportunity to volunteer and assist the professors on their special projects. He had told her ahead of time that he didn't plan on leaving Durmstrang until the four years were up. He had graduated number one in their class at Hogwarts and fully intended to be number one at Durmstrang too. Lily understood and supported him and his goals. She had expected the four years to be difficult. What she hadn't expected was that after two years she'd hear no more from him.

Now Lily was sure who was responsible: Severus' silence came after her kiss with Tom Riddle.

Tom Riddle was Severus' close friend. They'd met at Hogwarts and were both in the same year, and both in Slytherin. By being Severus' friend, he became Lily's friend as well. She'd probably been too preoccupied with being in love with Severus to see the signs, to see that Tom wanted more than friendship from her. Tom took his time, waiting for the right opportunity.

After Severus left for Durmstrang, Tom and she would get together once a month or so, going out dancing or to the cinema. Things changed one summer evening, just before Severus' third year began. Lily was feeling depressed because her hopes of seeing Severus had been crushed once again. He'd gone with a group of students to visit ancient Mayan sites in Central America to research healing potions and rituals there. She knew how important Severus' education was to him, but if just once in a letter he could say he missed her, was that too much to ask?

She went to dinner with Tom and they returned to her flat to watch a movie. Only this time, Tom kissed her. He'd never done that before. He knew she was in love with Severus; he knew they were going to be married when Severus returned, so when Tom kissed her, she'd panicked. He was their friend. He shouldn't be kissing her!

Lily pushed Tom away and said she couldn't, that she didn't think of him that way. He said it was all right, he understood, but he could see how unhappy she was and he wanted to help. He apologized and asked if they could remain friends, promising that nothing like that would ever happen again, so she'd agreed. They went back to the same routine as before.

The letters from Severus stopped coming that year. Lily kept writing as usual. Since Severus only sent a letter every few months, she didn't realize anything was wrong at first. But after she had sent him a letter in mid-November and still hadn't heard from him by Christmas, she asked Tom if he had been receiving any letters. Of course he had: the usual letters he always got from Severus, full of talk about school, professors, and class work. But Tom had paused, hesitating just long enough to get Lily to ask the question he had wanted her to, to ask what else was in the letters that he wasn't telling her.

Severus was dating his study partner, a boy he'd gotten to know when he was in Central America over the summer.

Lily stopped writing after that. She threw herself into her work, making potions for her father to use in his medical practice. That world fell apart five months later, destroyed when a drunk driver hit her parents' car head-on. The drunk driver lived; Lily's parents didn't.

It was only Tuney and she then. Tom went with her to the funeral; Tom let her cry on his shoulder; Tom held her and kissed her but didn't ask for more. She appreciated Tom for that, but she still didn't love him. She wasn't over Severus.

Tom traveled frequently, doing research on his ancestry. He had lived in an orphanage before going to Hogwarts, but he'd found out who his parents were and was searching for them. He wouldn't talk about them though, and usually returned from the trips in a sullen mood.

It was during one of Tom's trips that Lily fell victim to an episode of depression. It was almost a year since she had written her last letter to Severus. She should have been looking forward to his return in seven months. She should have been looking forward to making potions for her father, but now he was gone, too. Instead, she had nothing: no future, and no hope. She was so damaged inside. She thought that if someone cut her open, all they would see would be a rotting blackness. She was numb. She was dead. She wanted to crawl under the covers and never come out again.

But that night, November twentieth, they were celebrating Tuney's birthday. Lily had to go to it because Tuney was her only family now. So she went, and she drank, and she tried to have a good time for Tuney's sake. Vernon was there, and Tuney's friends, and it hurt to watch them all. Everyone was happy, able to look forward to lives full of promise, while she had nothing.

Then Lily saw him, watching her, and he smiled slyly at her when he caught her eye. He looked like she imagined Severus must look like now, after almost four years: long, silky dark hair, eyes as black as night, tall, lean and beautiful in every way. His kisses were passionate and his touch experienced. If she hadn't been so consumed by the moment, she might have been more careful.

Six weeks later, her pregnancy was confirmed.

Six weeks after that, cancer was too.

"Severus! What are you doing here?" It was Petunia. She'd just come up the stairs. Severus was still standing outside the open door to Lily's flat. Lily had been so shocked to see him that she hadn't thought to ask him in.

"Don't worry, Petunia," he replied dryly, getting himself under control. "My business here is through. I was just leaving."

And he was gone. Just like that, forever. Dawning realization of what Tom had done ran coldly through her veins. It took everything Lily had to will herself not to go after him, not to grab him and hold on to him and never let him go. She wanted him so badly, but more than that, she didn't want to hurt him any more than she already had, and if he had to watch her die...she simply could not be that selfish.

So she let him go.

Petunia thought that as she'd known so far ahead of time, she should have been better prepared for it when it finally happened. Thank God she had Vernon to lean on. He took care of everything for her, so all she had to do was sign some papers.

Even though he was a Muggle, Vernon thought Lily should have a witch's service. With Tom Riddle's help, they placed a notice in the Daily Prophet once the arrangements had been made.

It was sunny and unusually warm on this last day of September. Petunia thought it should have been cold, dark, and rainy. She went through the motions in a haze of grief and pain. If it weren't for baby Harry needing her, she would have been happy to curl up in bed and sleep for the next year.

The only time she came out of her stupor was when she saw Severus standing at the back. How dare he show up now, now that Lily didn't need him anymore? It was too late to make amends. The service was for Lily's friends, not for someone who had torn Lily's heart apart and shredded it into pieces.

When Lily had given Petunia the letter for Severus, instructing her not to owl it to him until after she died, Petunia had just gaped at her. Lily had sighed and looked away, unable to meet Petunia's eyes.

When the time had come to send it, though, Petunia needed to know what it said first. She'd felt a twinge of guilt at invading her sister's privacy, but what did it matter now? Lily was gone. When she read, through tear-blurred eyes, that Lily still loved the bastard, she saw red. He didn't deserve Lily's love! And how could Lily have dreamt of asking him to watch over Harry at Hogwarts? If he ever went near Harry, she'd tear him apart with her bare hands! In the end, Petunia kept the letter.

Petunia didn't want to talk to Severus or acknowledge his presence, but as everyone left, he stayed behind until there was only Vernon, Tom, and she, with baby Harry in her arms.

Severus shook Tom's and Vernon's hands, but since Petunia was holding Harry, she used it as an excuse to avoid the charade of politeness. The men made some small talk for a few minutes, until Petunia finally said, "Vernon, Tom, can you excuse us for just a minute? I have something to say to Severus in private."

Severus raised an eyebrow. Vernon and Tom looked about to protest.

"I need to talk with him for just a minute. Please, it will be fine," she stated firmly.

When they'd gone, she was thankful to have Harry in her arms. Otherwise, she'd have slapped him for daring to show his face here today.

"I can't believe you're here! You were the one to walk out of her life. It's too late to come crawling back. She doesn't need you now."

"She knew, when I came to see her the last time." It was a statement, not a question.

"Of course she knew, but she wasn't about to use emotional blackmail to get you to stay. If you didn't want her for herself, she surely didn't want you to want her out of pity!"

He remained silent, seeming only to notice Harry then for the first time.

"So, this is her...child?" he asked, contempt permeating his voice.

"Yes," she hissed. "This is Harry. He's named after our late father. He's already displayed some magical abilities, so he'll be attending Hogwarts. And when he does," she said, looking at him with fire in her eyes, "you will stay away from him. He will never, ever, know about you and his mother. If you do one single thing, anything, to hurt him...."

"You'll do what, Petunia?" he challenged. "You, a Squib? I think not. I'll do what I want. The brat will get no special treatment from me; he'll be like any other student of mine. I wouldn't dream of jeopardizing my job for petty revenge. I've worked too hard and too long to get where I am."

"That's right, Severus. That's all that ever mattered to you, isn't it? Your work, your job, your status as the brightest and best. You sacrificed so much to get you where you are — even my sister!"

"I have nothing more to say to you, Petunia. I do so look forward to having Harry in my class. It will certainly make life interesting," he said with a glint in his black eyes.

And he turned and walked away. Petunia had never cared much that she was a Squib, but at that moment, watching his retreating back, she would have given almost anything to be able to call up enough magic for one good Cruciatus curse.

Severus didn't know which emotion he was feeling most: grief, hate, regret, anger?

He was furious with Petunia. How dare she threaten him? It was ludicrous for her to believe he would take her seriously.

Sitting in his room in front of the fire, he took another sip of his wine as he replayed the conversation in his head for the tenth or hundredth time. It made him so damn angry!

There! That was it. The other emotions took their turns in him, but the one that always won in the end was the anger.

What, specifically, was he so angry about, though?

He was angry with Lily: for being unfaithful; for letting him walk away when he had shown up at her flat; for dying on him and deserting him forever, and for not letting him help her when he might have been able to save her.

They'd had so many dreams and plans. They were supposed to have been married after he finished at Durmstrang. He was going to earn his teaching certificate at Hogwarts so that he could conduct his own private seminars on potion-making. That was where the money was these days. He thought Lily had understood how important his education was.

Severus' fling with James Potter had just been to get access to the private Potter Family Library. No one was allowed into their archives; even the Ministry of Magic wasn't aware of some of the ancient and Dark potion formulations housed there. It was rumored that they even had a description of the Ritual of the Sun and the Moon, but James had said that one of his great, great...great-something...grandfathers had started the rumor himself to impress a witch he'd wanted to date. Severus noted that James didn't deny that they had the description, though Severus had never found it there on the two occasions he was allowed in to inspect the volumes.

Severus wondered, for a second or two, how Lily had found out about him and James. James was attractive, that was for sure, and fun and intelligent too. He would have been a great catch. But they had always kept it platonic, even if they did tease and flirt with each other. It was a habit they'd begun in Central America, a way to relieve the boredom that would set in during the night. So, okay, maybe sometimes they had given in to a little mutual masturbation, a kiss or two, but they never did more. Nothing compared to what Lily had done.

Now the anger was back! He could still picture the baby — Harry — held in Petunia's scrawny arms. The living proof of Lily's betrayal, that she had chosen another man over him. He hated the child as much as he hated Lily. It would serve Petunia right if he remained at Hogwarts, just to become the little bastard's teacher for seven years. The fun he could have tormenting the brat!

A picture began to take shape in Severus' mind. He hadn't really intended on staying at Hogwarts past the years required for the certification, but now that Lily was gone, he had no firm plans for his future. Owning an Apothecary and teaching seminars didn't hold the allure it once had, but being at Hogwarts when Harry Evans arrived....

The anger that had held him hostage for these past few days dissipated.

It was replaced by something else, another emotion, another desire...the desire for...revenge.

Scene 2: The Hogwarts Express

"Harry! Harry! Hurry up or we're going to miss the train!" Aunt Petunia stood at the bottom of the stairs, peering up to the dark landing and calling to her nephew.

The house shook as if a herd of elephants was charging down the hallway instead of one eleven-year-old boy.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Tuney," Harry answered, breathless from his run down the stairs. "I wanted to try and comb my hair one last time."

Petunia gave his arm a quick squeeze, then led him to the front door.

"Harry, your hair is fine. It's always going to look a little wild. If you let it grow a bit, gravity will help to keep it from sticking out all over."

Vernon was already waiting in the car. Harry's things were in the boot, and Hedwig was in her cage on the back seat, hooting excitedly. She had been a surprise birthday present from his aunt and uncle when he turned eleven. He'd admired her in the Owl Emporium the day they'd gone to Diagon Alley for his school supplies.

Harry had been waiting all summer for the owl to arrive with his letter to Hogwarts. His aunt had even brought a few of his lunches to him where he sat outside, staring into the sky, but she insisted he still eat his dinners at the table. He begged and pleaded and promised anything and everything to get Aunt Petunia to agree to take him to Diagon Alley the minute his letter was delivered. Diagon Alley was the most spectacular place, and his favorite shop, of course, was the bookshop: Flourish and Blotts.

Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Uncle Tom took him to Diagon Alley several times a year. Tom Riddle wasn't a real uncle to him. He was a school friend of his mum's and had stayed close to the family after his mum had died. Harry couldn't remember a holiday or birthday when Tom wasn't there with them to celebrate. Aunt Petunia said Tom had been in love with his mum. Tom had never married and had no family of his own, so Aunt Petunia made him a part of theirs.

Tom was fun and knew all sorts of interesting magic. Because Aunt Petunia was a Squib and Uncle Vernon a Muggle, they couldn't show Harry what magic was all about. Tom, though, was a powerful wizard. He lived in a huge house that had magic around it to keep people from seeing it. Harry thought that was the most wonderful thing and tried to get Tom to put magic around the mess in his room so Aunt Petunia wouldn't nag at him to clean it up all the time. Tom had laughed so hard he got tears in his eyes.

Tom had an important job at the Ministry of Magic. It sounded like police work, but he said he couldn't talk about the details, and that Harry was too young to understand politics anyway; he was still a boy and should have fun doing the things boys liked to do. He could wait to worry about jobs and career choices until he was in his fifth year at Hogwarts. He could learn all about what he'd have to do then, if he was still interested in becoming an Auror.

Tom showed Harry how to fly, taught him how to play Quidditch, and explained about the different houses at Hogwarts and the Founders of each; but most of all he talked about Harry's mother. Aunt Petunia talked about his mum too, but she hadn't gone to Hogwarts so didn't know about the things that went on there like Tom did. Even at Harry's young age, he could tell by the way Tom's voiced changed when Tom talked about his mum that he'd really liked her. It sounded like they'd had so much fun at school, taking long walks around the lake, sneaking into the Forbidden Forest, meeting down in the kitchens for a midnight snack — just tickle the pear in the picture and the portrait would open to reveal the entrance — and hiding from Filch, the caretaker, and his cat, Mrs. Norris.

On Harry's most recent visit, right before his birthday, his curiosity got the better of him after one of Tom's Hogwarts stories: Harry asked him what had happened, why he hadn't married his mum. Tom got a faraway, sad look in his eyes, and Harry suddenly wished he'd never said anything, quickly apologizing. "I'm sorry, Uncle Tom. Really. Please don't get upset. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Tom pulled Harry into a tight embrace and held him, moving his hand up and down Harry's back. "Don't worry, Harry. You have every right to know. I did want to marry your mother, but she was in love with someone else, another friend of ours at school, though he didn't love her back. Sometimes those things just happen. She only ever thought of me as a friend, and because I wanted to keep her in my life, I accepted it. Things get complicated, about your father and all, so it's best you ask your aunt about him. It's not my place to say anything, but I want you to know you're like a son to me. I couldn't love you more if you were my very own."

He kissed the top of Harry's head, then released him and ruffled his hair. It was one of the ways Tom liked to tease Harry, knowing Harry was so sensitive about his messy hair.

With a sly smile, Tom quickly changed moods, saying, "How about we go and play some one-on-one Seeker out at the Pitch? The loser pays for ice cream at Fortescue's the day we go for your Hogwarts supplies."

In a flash, Harry was running out the back door and off to the broom shed, his uncle hot on his heels. He wished Tom were his father, then immediately felt guilty. Uncle Vernon was a great father to him. It wasn't his uncle's fault he was a Muggle and couldn't do magic. His uncle did everything he could to make sure Harry was comfortable in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds. No one could have been more supportive and loving than his aunt and uncle. Harry felt sorry for them at times because they'd never been able to have a child of their own. They'd tried for eight years before finally giving up. Aunt Petunia had even fallen pregnant once, but something had happened and she'd lost the baby. Harry always wondered what it would have been like to have a little brother or sister to play with and protect.

Tom and Harry were at the shed now, laughing and shoving at each other like two little kids instead of one small boy and a grown man.

"You're going to buy me a double banana split with extra hot fudge and walnuts!" Harry yelled as he rose into the sky.

"I think not. You're going to buy me a double fudge brownie sundae with extra whipped cream," Tom yelled back. "Are you ready? Do I need to give you a head start?" he taunted Harry.

"Ha! You're the old man. Do you want to borrow my glasses so you can see the Snitch better?" Harry threw back.

"Old? Who are you calling old? I'll have you know I'm in the prime of my life. And I will never grow old!" Tom replied.

"That may be true," Harry shouted as they hovered over the grass, "but you'll always be older than me no matter what you do!"

Tom released the Snitch, and they were off.

It had been a perfect day.

"So how do we get onto platform nine and three-quarters?" Harry wondered.

All his things were loaded on a trolley. Uncle Vernon moved it dexterously through the throng of people, with Aunt Petunia and Harry following in his wake. They were approaching the barrier between platforms nine and ten. It looked like Uncle Vernon was about to hit it straight on when he stopped, turned to Harry and grinned. "Magic, Harry, it's all magic." And right before Harry's eyes, Uncle Vernon walked directly into the barrier and disappeared.

Aunt Petunia laughed at Harry's expression of shock and surprise. She could still remember her wonderment the first time she'd passed through the barrier when they took Lily to the Express all those years ago.

"That's amazing! How did he do that?" Harry asked in awe.

"Here, Harry. Just walk with me and don't stop," Aunt Petunia instructed.

They moved forward, walking up to the barrier at a brisk pace. His eyes were telling his brain it was going to hurt when they crashed into it. Just as they were almost there, he closed his eyes and made ready for the impact.

But it didn't happen. He heard Aunt Petunia's high, sweet laugh again as she said, "See there, Harry. Have faith in your magic. It will never let you down."

When Harry opened his eyes, he saw it: the scarlet steam engine of the Hogwarts Express! The platform was crawling with parents and students, cats and owls, and carts with trunks and boxes with...who knew what? Harry was overwhelmed with excitement. He'd never imagined it would be so wonderful.

"Come on, Harry. They're over here." Aunt Petunia made her way through the throng of people to where Uncle Vernon was shaking hands with Tom. Next to them was an attractive, aristocratic looking man with long, blond hair as white as snow, a beautiful, petite woman with hair as black as the man's was white, and a boy who looked to be the same age as Harry, with the same high cheekbones, pointed chin, and white-blond hair as the man.

Tom saw Harry and Aunt Petunia as they stopped beside him. "Harry!" he exclaimed and ruffled Harry's hair. "So what do you think? Is it what you expected?"

"Uncle Tom, I'm so glad you made it! No, it's nothing like what I thought it would be. It's so...it's so...."

"Alive!" the blond boy filled in for him, amused by Harry's obvious amazement.

"Yes! That's it. It's like the place has a life of its own."

"I'm glad you're enjoying the experience," Tom said. "Harry, Petunia, Vernon. I'd like you to meet some friends of mine from the Ministry." Tom turned to the three strangers and began making introductions. "This is Bellatrix Black, her brother-in-law Lucius Malfoy, and his son, Draco. Draco is going to Hogwarts today also, so I asked them to join us. And," Tom now turned back to Harry and the Dursleys, "this is my adoptive family I've talked so much about. Petunia and Vernon Dursley and their nephew, Harry Evans."

"Why don't you boys go on ahead and find a compartment before they all fill up? We'll be along shortly with your things," Tom suggested.

The boys took off in search of an empty compartment. Tom was right; they were filling up fast, but at the back of the train several were still empty and they quickly claimed one.

"So what house do you want to be in?" Harry asked.

"Well, any of them are fine with me. They're all respectable, but I think I would fit best in Ravenclaw, even though Father was in Slytherin. I like to, um...." The boy paused, as if deciding if he should reveal his deepest, darkest secret to a stranger. Decision quickly made, he continued proudly, "I like to read. A lot. I've already read most of our textbooks for first year.

"And I thought Hogwarts: A History was fascinating. Did you know the ceiling of the Great Hall is enchanted? It's made to reflect what the sky outside looks like all the time, so if it's raining outside, the ceiling looks like it's raining in the Great Hall. And if it's snowing, it looks like it's snowing in the Great Hall. And at night, the ceiling is dark and you can see the stars if it's not cloudy and...well, you get the idea. And Muggles can't see Hogwarts because it's bewitched. If a Muggle looks at it, all they see is an old ruin with a sign over the entrance saying DANGER, DO NOT ENTER, UNSAFE. And, you can't Apparate anywhere within Hogwarts or its grounds."

Draco paused to take a breath and glanced over at Harry, suddenly embarrassed by his impromptu speech about Hogwarts. Harry wanted to make him feel better, so he lowered his voice and said in a conspiratorial tone, "That's all right. I want to be in Ravenclaw too, even though my mum was in Gryffindor. I read the entire Magical Drafts and Potions book in two days. My mum was number two in her class, and her specialty was Potions. My aunt still had all my mum's Potions books from every year at Hogwarts. They're older editions, but are still great. I've read every one. Advanced Potion-Making is the best; I brought it along with me. My mum added all kinds of tips and tricks in the margins of the book to improve on the printed directions. I can't wait to try some of them out and make my first potion. It's like cooking and baking, and I love to help my aunt in the kitchen. Potions should be a breeze."

"Wow, that's great," Draco said, seeming impressed by anyone who would love potion-making. "Not many people enjoy Potions. Most wizards look down on it because it's not a Hard Magic, like Transfiguration or Charms. But I'm afraid you're far more along with it than I am. I have been practicing some Charms though, and I've even been able to do the first Transfiguration we're going to learn in class this year. I can change a match into a needle."

"Hey, I'll make you a deal then," Harry began. "I'll help out with any Potions you have trouble with if you help me with Transfiguration." And Harry held out his hand.

Draco paused just a second before clasping it in his own. "Deal!"

"So, you live with your aunt and uncle?" Draco asked cautiously, appearing unsure of how to phrase his question.

"Yeah, they've raised me. They're my parents now. My mum died a few months after I was born. She found out she had cancer when she was pregnant with me, but she refused to have an abortion so she could receive treatment. And my dad - well, my aunt said she doesn't know his name, only that he was a businessman from America. He doesn't know anything about me either. He and my mum met at my aunt's birthday party, it was at a club and...well...." Now it was Harry's turn to be embarrassed.

"Hey, that kind of thing happens all the time. Mother and Father had to get married too. They were already planning to be, but had to move the date up a bit." He laughed. "It's not like it's difficult to cast a good contraceptive charm. I suppose in the heat of passion you don't always remember the details. But I'm certainly not complaining, because," and opening out his arms to each side with a grin, he exclaimed, "here I am!"

Harry's jaw dropped at Draco's frank talk of his mother and father having sex. "Do you, um...know those kind of charms?"

"Of course. That was one of the first things Father taught me when he told me about sex. But I don't expect I'll be needing to use any for a while. Girls — yuck!" And they both fell victim to giggles.

As if hearing their conversation, the door to their compartment opened and a girl about their age entered. She had lots of bushy brown hair, and when she smiled, they couldn't help but notice her pure white, perfectly straight teeth.

"Hello. I'm Hermione Granger. Have either of you seen a toad around here? Neville's lost his," she said, and from behind the girl, they could barely make out the shape of another person waving his hand over her shoulder.

"Hello, I'm Neville Longbottom. Pleased to meet you!"

"Hi, I'm Harry Evans, and this is Draco Malfoy. Sorry, we haven't seen any toads around here. I've only seen a few cats and plenty of owls. Are you first years too?"

"Yes, we both are. Sorry, but we have to go. We have to find Neville's toad before the train leaves. We don't want Trevor left behind, but we'll come back and chat later if that's all right with you. We don't have a compartment yet."

"Sure, come on back when you find him. We've lots of room," Harry said with enthusiasm.

Then the two were gone as quickly as they had appeared. Harry looked over at Draco; his pale face was now flushed red. "Well, maybe I'll find some use for that charm after all," Draco said without thinking.

Draco was saved from himself by the adults showing up right then with the trunks and Hedwig.

"Here you are. You found an empty compartment, I see," Mr. Malfoy declared.

Then the whistle blew, warning that the train was about to depart, so they made their tearful good-byes. Harry and Draco smirked at each other as if to say, 'Look at what we put up with.'

"Harry, write to me as soon as you get the chance. I want to know what house you're sorted into and all about your first week."

"I will, Aunt Tuney." And he gave her a hug and kiss.

"You take care, son. Stay out of trouble...well, stay out of too much trouble. Trouble can't be avoided when you're young and learning your magical limits," Uncle Vernon said as he gave Harry a quick hug too.

The adults disembarked, and the train began to move. Everyone on the platform was waving and shouting as the train slowly picked up speed. "Bye! Write soon! Be careful! We love you!" The people looked smaller and smaller as the train pulled further and further away, but Harry continued to wave, until they finally rounded a bend and the station was no longer in his sight.

Aunt Petunia felt an overwhelming sense of melancholy. She was happy for Harry. He was turning into an attractive and intelligent young man. She only wished that Lily could have been here with them.

Tom walked next to Petunia as the group made their way to leave. Vernon walked behind them with Lucius and Bellatrix, the three deep in discussion, debating the importance of keeping the wizarding world a secret.

"He's still there, you know, teaching Potions. Did you say anything to Harry about him?" Tom asked.

Petunia frowned. Tom didn't have to say the name. She knew exactly whom he was talking about.

"What would I say? I've never mentioned him to Harry and I hope I never have reason to. I trust that what he said to me all those years ago is still true, that he wouldn't jeopardize his job just to get back at Lily or me through Harry. If he gives Harry a hard time, I'm sure Harry would let me know."

"I'm not close to him anymore, but I could offer him a job with the Auror Department," Tom suggested.

Startled, and grateful for the support, she asked, "Would you really do that, Tom? Are you sure?"

"We're always in need of good Forensic Potions and Spell Specialists. Anyone with those kinds of skills doesn't stay with us long. There's more money to be made in private contracting once they earn a reputation for success. It's too late to make him an offer for this term; he would have already signed his contract with the school and they're almost impossible to break. No one would give him a job again if he did, so I would just be wasting my time. He might be suspicious too, my suddenly offering him a job as soon as Harry shows up. But I could at least make contact and then see about timing it right before next term starts."

"Thanks, Tom. I know I can count on you to always keep Harry safe. I don't know how we would have taught Harry about his magical heritage if it weren't for you."

They had reached the barrier, so made their good-byes. Lucius and Bellatrix shook Petunia's and Vernon's hands again with promises to meet for dinner one night and catch up on their children's Hogwarts experiences. Tom gave Petunia a kiss on the cheek and shook Vernon's hand.

Once Vernon and Petunia returned through the barrier, she could no longer keep her emotions in check. Vernon held her, patting her back as she cried softly in his arms. Going to platform nine and three-quarters had always been a bittersweet experience. Petunia loved Lily and had been happy for her being a powerful witch, but at the same time, it was difficult not to be envious over the opportunities available to Lily that were closed off to Petunia. Seeing Harry off today and being separated from him for the first time had her reliving the pain she'd always felt when Lily left for Hogwarts.

Lily, she thought, I wish you were here. I miss you so very much.

Harry expected Hermione and Neville back any minute, now that the train was moving. He didn't know if it was proper of him to ask, but since Draco had brought up his mum, Harry wanted to know about Draco's.

"So, um...Ms. Black, she's your mum's sister, then?"

Draco was still looking out the window, taking in the scenery as it blurred by. At first Harry thought Draco hadn't heard him, but finally he sat back and looked Harry in the eyes.

"Yes...well, my mum. She died too. I still remember her though. Father has an important job at the Ministry of Magic, making life and death decisions. Someone didn't like one of the decisions he made and came to the house." Draco looked away from Harry, back out the window and into the past.

"The man's little girl died. He decided that since he had lost his child because of Father, then it was only right that Father should lose his child too. Father was at work and couldn't get to us in time. We don't talk about it much; it makes him feel guilty for not being there when it happened. He thinks he could have saved Mum, you know?" Draco looked back at Harry with bright, wet eyes.

"The man cast a curse at me and she jumped in front of it, but not before she cast the Killing Curse at him. That's the one and only time I've ever seen the Killing Curse. If Father had been there, I think he could have saved my mum. My father knows the countercurse to what the man used - Sectumsempra. Have you heard of it?"

Harry shook his head no, but then remembered he had seen it once. It was written in the margin of his mother's Potions book.

"It's a Dark curse," Draco continued. "Not many wizards know it. Well, not many good wizards know it. A student actually created it about twenty years ago. He was trying to find a more precise and safer way of cutting caustic potion ingredients, but someone in his class took it and used it on another student and almost killed them. When the student who created it found out, he worked out a countercurse. He never used or taught the curse to anyone after that, but the damage was already done. Too many people in his Potions class had learned it, including Father."

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, taking Draco's hand in his. He didn't know what else to say, but Draco squeezed his hand back.

The door to the compartment slid open; Hermione and Neville had returned.

Scene 3: Severus Snape

It was Friday. Draco and Harry were entering the Great Hall for a quick breakfast. Their first week of classes had gone by in a whirl of excitement and confusion. Exactly as they had wanted, Draco and Harry were sorted into Ravenclaw. Hermione had been too, but Neville ended up in Gryffindor, although he didn't seem to mind. He said he hated to read, and seeing that he was brave enough to say that in front of the three Ravenclaws only proved that he'd been sorted into the right house.

Hermione was already at the Ravenclaw table this morning. Draco sat down next to her, and Harry was across from them, smirking at Draco when he blushed a bright red. This seemed to be their permanent seating arrangement. Harry wondered how long it would be before Draco got over his embarrassment and could sit down next to Hermione without looking like he'd been out in freezing weather for hours on end.

"Are you sick, Draco? You look like you might have a fever," Hermione asked, concerned.

"No, I was just rushing to get down here so I'd have time to eat before class. I'm a bit out of breath, that's all." Quickly changing the subject, he said, "So Harry, it's double Potions this morning. You've been waiting for this all week. We'd better get going so we're not late."

Draco's favorite class so far had been Transfiguration, especially since he was able to impress everyone, including Professor McGonagall, when he'd immediately turned his match into a needle. Hermione's had been Charms. She'd mastered Wingardium Leviosa on the first try, getting her feather to fly around the room and dive-bomb Professor Flitwick. He'd taken it all in good stride.

They hadn't yet had what Harry expected to be his favorite class — Potions, taught by Professor Severus Snape. It was a double class and only met on Friday mornings.

The Potions classes were held down in the dungeons. Some might have found the jars of ingredients creepy that lined the walls — pickled animals, insects, and pieces of things that were slimy and unidentifiable — but Harry found them fascinatingly beautiful, the way they floated in the different colored liquids. It was better than watching tropical fish swimming in an aquarium.

Professor Snape started class by taking roll, pausing for an instant and looking up when he called Harry's name. They had locked eyes at the Welcoming Feast when Harry sat down at the Ravenclaw table, and he'd had the distinct impression that Professor Snape disliked him, but he couldn't say exactly why he felt that way.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," Professor Snape began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses....I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."*

Draco and Harry exchanged glances. Harry grinned. Yes, this was going to be his favorite class.

"Evans!" said Snape suddenly. Harry jumped at the sound of his name, taken by surprise at being so loudly singled out.

"Where would you look if I told you to find me a Bezoar?"

"Um...." He knew this! Come on, he told himself. Don't be nervous...just take a deep breath, stay calm, and answer. "In the stomach of a goat, although I would think it wise to keep one around the house if you live in the city. It's an antidote for most poisons, and goats aren't commonly found in London or Birmingham." The class snickered, but Snape only glowered at him.

"What is the difference, Evans, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"There isn't one, sir. They're the same thing. The plant also has a third name — aconite. It's used as the basis for the Wolfsbane Potion. The Wolfsbane Potion assists werewolves during their monthly transformation at the full moon. The werewolf still changes, but he's able to keep his human thought processes intact, rather than losing himself to the animal side of the wolf."

Draco kicked Harry under the table. Snape was looking more and more agitated with each correct answer Harry gave, but Harry didn't get the message Draco was trying to send.

"What is unusual about the Pneumon Potion?"

"Its main ingredient is Dieffenbachiam. Dieffenbachiam is the Muggle plant Dieffenbachia, but with its properties magically changed to have the opposite effect. When ingested, Dieffenbachia can cause burning in the mouth. It can also cause severe swelling of the throat which may block the airway, leading to suffocation and death. When precisely cut, Dieffenbachiam assists in opening up the breathing passages. The Pneumon Potion was named thus because it was developed to treat persons with pneumonia. More recently, it has been used to help lung cancer patients. Although it is not a cure, it can ease the breathing of persons who have it. The potential problem with the potion is that if the Dieffenbachiam is not cut to exact specifications, the magical change is lost and the pieces become plain Dieffenbachia. Drinking the potion then can be fatal."

Snape's eyes narrowed as Harry recited the answer, almost verbatim, from the Advanced Potion-Making book. Harry knew he'd made a mistake, but he wasn't sure what he was doing wrong. The questions that Snape was asking him were all very difficult; none of them were found in their Magical Drafts and Potions book. Snape should have been impressed with him, but instead, it seemed as if Harry was just making him angry.

Draco kicked him again before he finally caught on. Snape had been trying to embarrass him in front of the class by asking questions that no first year would have known.

"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry felt trapped. He knew the answer was the Draught of Living Death, but he could now see that Snape would continue his inquisition until he managed to find a question that Harry could not answer.

"The Draught of Peace. It, um...calms anxiety. I think I could use some myself right now." The entire class roared with laughter.

Snape's cold black eyes were furious. If corporal punishment were still allowed at Hogwarts, Harry was sure he would have received a severe caning from Snape at that very moment.

"Detention, Mr. Evans!" Snape shouted angrily above the classes' laughter. "Tonight! Seven sharp. Do not be late. Potions is not a class in which to make jokes."

The class was quiet now. Harry wished a hole would open up in the floor and swallow him. Why did Snape hate him so much?

"Seven o'clock, Mr. Evans. Right on time."

Harry stood in front of Professor Snape's desk for a full five minutes before Snape looked up at him. He was sure Snape did it purposely, just to make him feel uncomfortable.

It worked, too.

"Since you have such in-depth knowledge of the Pneumon Potion, I thought I would have you assist in preparing the primary ingredient for it for my sixth year class. You know the importance of Dieffenbachiam, the need for the precise cutting of each piece, the correct angle and length, and of extracting the juice by hand. This precision requires that no gloves be used since they might interfere with hand control over the knife. I have set twenty stalks of the whole plant over there on the table." Snape indicated a small workbench near the Potions storeroom. "That should be enough."

Sighing internally, Harry responded, "Yes, sir. I understand." And Harry did, too, especially when Snape's lips curled up in a half smile.

"Then get started. I don't want to be here all night."

The one thing Harry hadn't mentioned in class when he'd answered Snape's question on the Pneumon Potion concerned the juice of the Dieffenbachiam plant: it burned when touched with bare hands. In small amounts, it wouldn't do any permanent damage, but cutting twenty stalks — the outer layer of skin on his hands was sure to be blistered by the time he was through.

And it was clear to him that that was exactly what Snape intended.

Snape went back to marking papers. Harry walked over to the table and started to cut.

"I'm finished, sir. I left the juice and the pieces on the table. I don't think I could get the juice into individual vials right now." Because my hands are too painful to be useful, Harry thought angrily. "I can come back tomorrow and do it if you'd like."

Harry was back in front of Snape's desk. It had taken three hours for him to finish. He had been determined not to give in and ask to stop, even though the last hour had made him light-headed from the fiery pain he'd endured each time he crushed the juice from a piece of the plant.

"That will do, Evans. I will take care of bottling it."

"May I go now, sir?" Harry asked. He was sure that if he didn't get to the infirmary soon to have his hands healed, he would have scars.

"Not yet. Come here," Snape commanded firmly.

Harry hesitated a moment. It seemed to him that to go behind a teacher's desk was something that was inappropriate, that somehow it would be showing disrespect, and Snape was the last person he wanted to appear to disrespect.

"Evans, is there a problem?" Snape asked impatiently.

"No, sir," Harry said, moving slowly around the desk to stand in front of Snape.

"Hold out your hands, palms up."

Harry reluctantly did as he was told. Snape grabbed Harry's wrists painfully tight and began to examine the burns on Harry's hands. Harry felt an uncomfortable tingling sensation where Snape was touching him and tried to pull away.

"Keep your hands still, Evans," Snape barked.

Harry noticed a small jar on Snape's desk. The lid was off and he could see it contained a yellowish, greasy paste. Snape scooped some out using his fingertips and began working it into the sores in a none-too-delicate manner. Harry hissed and sucked in his breath to keep from crying out. Snape was enjoying it, Harry could tell — the vice-like way he gripped Harry's wrist, the way he rubbed so forcefully on the sores. Harry was shaking and he began to feel dizzy. He almost surrendered to the tears, but after a few minutes the paste took effect, numbing Harry's hands so that he no longer felt any pain.

"You'll have to stay here for thirty minutes until you regain feeling in your hands. You won't be able to use them or hold your wand, and I can't let you go if you are unable to defend yourself. Please take a seat. I need to ask you some questions while we wait."

Harry wanted to protest, to get away from Snape as quickly as possible, but he didn't dare say anything. He sat at the table directly in front of Snape's desk. Snape peered down at him a moment before standing, making himself even more intimidating as he walked over and towered above Harry.

"So, Evans, tell me. Where did you get your information on the Pneumon Potion? We do not encounter it until sixth year."

"I, um...." Harry did not want to let Snape know he had read Advanced Potion-Making . He was sure Snape would use the knowledge against him in some way.

Snape leaned forward, hands on the desk until he was inches from Harry's face and looked him directly in the eyes.

"Evans, one thing I will not put up with is lying. I can have you expelled for a serious enough offense. Potions is a dangerous subject. I need to be aware constantly of what is occurring inside and outside my classroom at all times. The wrong amount of an ingredient, the addition of an ingredient at the incorrect time, or a student trying to make a potion on his own outside of class, can have disastrous, even fatal results. Am I making myself clear?" he asked threateningly. "Now, one more time: how do you know about the Pneumon Potion?"

What Snape had said made sense, but Harry was sure that Snape's demand for the source of his knowledge had nothing to do with safety.

"Potions has always been my favorite subject," Harry explained. "My...my mother, she loved to make potions. Well, that's what I was told anyway, so when I got my school supplies over the summer, I read all of Magical Drafts and Potions in two days. I talked my aunt into going back to Flourish and Blotts and buying me the Potions textbooks for the higher years. I don't know them as well as our first year book, but I did read through them all. The Pneumon Potion caught my eye in Advanced Potion-Making because...." He paused. Think! Harry had to think up a believable reason as to why he would notice that potion, other than the fact that Sectumsempra, the curse that had killed Draco's mother, was written next to it!

"Well, I like to work in my aunt's garden, and when I first read that Dieffenbachiam was used in it, I read it as Dieffenbachia, like the Muggle plant, not Dieffenbachiam, the magically modified version of it. I didn't even know there was such a way of modifying plants like that. I was surprised that Dieffenbachia would be used; I thought ingesting it would be fatal. It wasn't until I fully researched it that I understood the importance of the angle of cut and length of the pieces used." Please, please let him believe me, Harry prayed. The last thing he wanted was to be expelled in his first week of class.

Fortunately, while Harry had been talking, Snape had walked around behind him and couldn't see the worry on Harry's face over the story he'd just concocted. Harry knew he was a terrible liar; it was his eyes that usually gave him away.

He could feel Snape stop behind him when he had finished talking. It made him nervous not to be able to see what Snape was doing. The man was standing close, too close. He could feel the warmth of Snape's body, hear the deep breathing in the silence of the classroom. When would that thirty minutes be up?

"Did you bring Advanced Potion-Making to school with you?"

Yes, Harry thought, it's in my trunk right now in my room. "No, sir!" Harry denied quickly.

"Did you attempt to make any of those potions that you read about?"

"No, sir!" Harry again denied.

"Not even with your mother? You said she loved to make potions."

Harry swallowed hard. He'd expected to have to talk about his mum sooner or later, but he'd always thought he would be explaining things to other students, not to a teacher. Didn't teachers have files on students with this kind of information?

Obviously not. It would be outright cruel for Snape to know that his mother was dead and to ask about her anyway.

"My aunt told me Potions was my mum's favorite subject here at Hogwarts. My mum...she died a few months after I was born. All I know of her is what my aunt told me."

Harry wished he could have some of that paste from Snape's jar so he could numb his feelings right now.

"I see. Evans, ...Evans, ...." Snape's voice sounded distant. "I do seem to recall a girl name Evans in my year. Laura or Lila, ...."

"Lily," Harry whispered, barely loud enough for Snape to hear. "My mother's name was Lily." He blinked several times and closed his eyes tightly.

"Yes, that's it. Lily. Like...the flower." Snape said the name with a sneer, as if naming someone after a flower was the most distasteful thing to do. Harry wondered what he would think if he knew his aunt's name was Petunia.

Snape continued his musing, ignoring Harry's obvious distress. "She was in a different house, though. Gryffindor, I believe. As I'm sure you have noticed, most students only socialize within their own house. Rarely do they befriend anyone from another."

Harry thought of Uncle Tom being in Slytherin, and how close he had been to his mum, and was about to disagree. He decided against it; he'd probably get another detention for being impertinent.

"What of your father? Why does he not tell you about her?"

Blushing slightly, Harry replied, "I don't know who he is."

"I...see." The loathing in Snape's voice could not be mistaken.

Harry started when he felt Snape lean against him, his hot breath tickling the hairs on the back of his neck. The unexpected touch made him shudder.

"Place your hands on the desk."

All Snape was doing was checking over Harry's hands where the sores had been. Harry was going to have to read up on that paste Snape had used, because now there wasn't any evidence that Harry's hands had ever been blistered or burned. For as rough as Snape had been when Harry's hands had been damaged, Snape's manner now was decidedly gentle. Harry's entire body began to tingle at Snape's touch. And Snape took his time, first feeling Harry's palms, then gliding along each individual finger, over and around the thumb, and finally lightly skimming the backs of his hands. It could only be described as — tender.

Harry jumped out of the chair, his heart pounding, and backed away from Snape.

"Evans, what is your problem? I did not dismiss you," Snape said irritably.

"I just...I...." Damn, he felt like a fool! Snape hadn't done anything that Harry could specifically say was improper. The man was only checking Harry's hands. Still, it made him uncomfortable at how intimate the act had become. "My hands have the feeling back, and the way you were touching them felt strange, that's all. I'm sorry. May I go now, please...sir?"

"Do you understand what tonight was about?" Snape asked.

"Sir?" Harry wasn't sure what Snape was referring to.

"The point of detention is that it is a deterrent to bad behavior. I hope you have learned your lesson. Your next detention with me will not be as easy. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir — quite clear."

"Your hands appear to have recovered. You may leave."

Harry turned, and without another word, left the classroom in a rush.

"Harry! Have you been in detention all this time?" Hermione asked incredulously. Draco and she were sitting up in the common room. He didn't feel like talking about it. How could he even put into words the strange feeling he got from Snape? It would make him sound like he was paranoid or worse yet, making it all up to get back at Snape for giving him detention.

"Yes, I've just finished and I'm really tired. Would you mind if we talked about it in the morning?" Harry asked as he stifled a fake yawn.

"Sure. We were still up studying; I hadn't even realized how late it was until you came in. I'll see you both in the morning." Hermione packed up her things and left for the girls' dorm.

Draco walked with Harry to their room. "Harry, you're pale as one of the Hogwarts' ghosts. You don't have to tell me, but is everything all right? Professor Snape's detentions have a reputation for being extreme. Usually, once you've had a detention with him, you do everything possible to avoid more."

"He had me cut up Dieffenbachiam, twenty stalks of it."

Draco stopped and pulled up Harry's arms, carefully looking over his hands. "But...your hands are fine. How come you didn't get any burns? We have some in our garden at the Manor, and when I was about nine, I burned myself on a piece. Handling that much should have done something, at least caused blisters."

"It did! You should have seen my hands, Draco, but Snape had some kind of salve he used on them. That's why I was so late. He made me stay there until the numbness wore off and they were healed."

"There's something else though, isn't there?"

Harry flopped back on his bed, too tired to even take off his clothes. Draco sat down next to him, and Harry put his hands under his head, propping himself up some so he could see Draco better as they talked.

"I just don't understand why the man seems to hate me so much. You saw how he looked at me at the Welcoming Feast, like I was some disgusting potion ingredient he'd accidentally stepped in. And in class, he singled me out, asking those questions, expecting me not to know the answers. Normally a first year wouldn't, and I only knew because I love Potions and memorized the book already." Harry smiled up at Draco. "But he wouldn't have known that. I think he wanted to make me look bad in front of the class. By the way, thanks for trying to let me know what was going on. I didn't notice at first, how it upset him more and more each time I was able to answer correctly. That's why I finally gave a wrong answer when he asked me about the asphodel. I shouldn't have let on that I knew about the Pneumon Potion though. I could see something change in his face the minute I answered. I think that's the real reason he gave me detention. He wanted to find out how I knew about it."

"You didn't tell him about your mum's notes, did you? Professor Snape would probably consider that cheating."

"No, I told him my aunt had bought me a new book after I finished reading our first year book in two days, and I made up something about gardening and thinking the ingredient used was Dieffenbachia instead of Dieffenbachiam and that's why I'd noticed it, not because..." Harry stopped. Should he tell Draco about seeing Sectumsempra written in the margin? Draco was his best friend; if he couldn't be honest with Draco, what was the point?

"I noticed it because a word was written in the margin, next to that potion...." Harry couldn't meet Draco's eyes as he said, "Sectumsempra."

The room was deathly quiet. Harry could hear the change in Draco's breathing. It seemed like hours passed instead of seconds before Draco finally spoke.

"That was fast thinking. Well, Snape is the toughest teacher here. He knows his stuff too. If you really intend to specialize in Potions, you won't be able to avoid him. Just do your best and he'll have to respect your knowledge, even if he never likes you."

Draco got up, but paused with his hand on the curtain. "Okay then. I'll let you get some sleep. And...it's all right, you know, about Sectumsempra. Your mum must have been in the class with the student, whoever it was, that created that spell. I'm sure she never used it once she found out it was Dark Magic." Smiling sadly, Draco pulled shut the curtains to Harry's bed.

Harry couldn't move, he was so exhausted. He managed to toe off his shoes and kick them to the floor. Within minutes, he was asleep, a vision lingering in his head of standing next to his mother as they brewed a potion together.

Snape's favorite spot in his rooms was in front of the fireplace. He had a chair, so comfortable that a person could easily fall asleep in it and wake with no sign of a stiff neck or aching back. A table and lamp stood next to the chair. A book of some sort always lay atop. Visitors, what few he had, were surprised to find the book was usually a Muggle classic rather than Potions related, although tonight would be different. Why in the world people thought he'd spend his free time reading Potions books was beyond him.

People, in general, were stupid and selfish. Snape enjoyed his solitude, not having to deal with the idiosyncrasies of so-called friends. It was too much work to maintain a relationship, whether a lover or an acquaintance, for the little benefit he'd gain from it. He'd rather spend his time sipping a nice red wine while reading his book, than attempt small talk with smaller minds.

Lily — she had been the exception. She was the most intriguing person he had ever met. He fell for her mind before he ever fell for her body. She was brilliant. She never made fun of him when he talked about his wild theories on Potions; even better, she had theories of her own! They would spend hours discussing the merits of stirring with a glass wand made of sand from just below the Pyramids of Tulum versus a glass wand made of sand from the Saharan Desert, or the difference in potency of lovage dried in July morning sunlight versus a December afternoon's, or the best methods of storing and preserving Runespoor eggs.

One of the few things they disagreed on was Muggles — how much assistance the wizarding world should give them. Lily's father worked as a Muggle doctor even though he was a wizard. She'd wanted to make potions that he could use to help his patients. Severus kept trying to tell her it was more complicated than that; she'd have to get approval from the Potions Control and Monitoring Board. A wizard couldn't just give potions to Muggles. That had been tightly controlled for years, ever since 1692 when the Prohibition of Potions Act created the Control and Monitoring Board.

Another area of conflict concerned Durmstrang: Severus had wanted her to go to Durmstrang with him. Any great Potions Master went there for his higher education. It was expensive, but worth the additional cost. He wanted to open his own Apothecary and become certified by the Potions Control Board to conduct private seminars in potion-making. He could make potions, sell potions, teach Potions — and if Lily still insisted on supplying potions to Muggles, they could traverse the maze of red tape and regulations it took and do that too. He wasn't sure the Muggles were worth it — but Lily was. She was his best friend, not counting Tom.

Tom Riddle was one of only two Slytherins he could stomach, the other being Lucius Malfoy. Not only was Tom clever, he was outgoing and attractive too. Severus shied away from his advances at first, not trusting Tom's motivations. He was eventually seduced by Tom's ability to manipulate people into getting what he wanted, his shrewdness in sizing up his opponents and determining what was most important to them, then using the knowledge to his best advantage. Dealing with people was something Severus found impossible, given their lack of intelligence and common sense. But being able to manipulate and control — that was a skill he wanted to learn. It would make it easier for him to appear to fit in and get along with the idiots who seemed to be in control of the world.

What Tom wanted from Severus was to make use of his Potions knowledge. The fact that Severus knew Tom was manipulating him gave Severus the advantage, so he allowed it.

Sixth year was his best year. That was the year Lily and he decided to put their Potions theories to the test. Their teacher, Professor Slughorn, was enamored with Lily; when she asked that she be partnered with Severus, Slughorn cheerfully agreed. They ended up with so many notes in the margins of their Advanced Potion-Making book that it was sometimes difficult to see the original instructions. They improved every single potion in that book in one way or another. It was the most fun he'd ever had.

Until Sectumsempra.

They had wanted a way to be able to cut up Dieffenbachiam for use in the Pneumon Potion. Because of the acidic nature of the juice, cutting up the pieces was a painful process. The precision needed in the angle of cut and length of the pieces meant the plant had to be cut without protective gloves. The gloves would interfere with control over the knife while cutting.

Lily had been the one to create the spell, but Severus was the one who was observed using it. They were always careful to never let anyone else know what they were up to. Severus hadn't even realized Fabian Prewett had seen him use it that day until he was called into the Headmaster's Office.

A student was in St. Mungo's, barely alive. His chest had been slashed open and he'd almost bled to death. Only the quick thinking of Professor Flitwick and a Freezing Charm had stopped the flow of blood long enough to transport the boy to St. Mungo's. The student who had cast the curse was in Severus' Potions class. He said he'd learned it from Prewett. Prewett had charged the other students a Galleon to show them a short cut for slicing up Potions ingredients. When Prewett had been called in to talk with the Headmaster, he said he'd seen Severus using the spell.

Severus was horrified, not only because a student had almost died, but also because he and Lily had never once considered how the spell might work on a human. It had been outright stupidity on their part not to consider the consequences and potential ways the spell might be abused. Now others knew about the spell. Who else might be hurt, or killed, because of their carelessness? At least Lily hadn't been implicated; no one knew she'd created the spell and he fully intended to protect her reputation and take the blame.

"I'm sorry, sir. I never intended it to be used on humans. I created it as a way to be able to cut ingredients without having to touch them."

"Severus, my boy, don't worry. You are not in trouble. I realize the spell was not created for malicious purposes. I've studied it and created a countercurse. I've called you here to show you how it works. I've made arrangements for everyone in your Potions class who was shown Sectumsempra to learn the counter for it. I only ask that in the future, you be more careful in your spell creation. Sectumsempra has been registered with the Ministry as a Dark and Restricted Curse. Since you are not of age, I did not have to identify you. There will be no record that you were in any way involved in its creation."

"Thank you, sir. I'm very sorry about everything. Lily and I were just trying to find better ways to improve on the potions in our book."

"You and Miss Evans make a fine team. You are both talented students — two of the school's best. I fully expect you both to graduate at the top of your class. Sectumsempra may have had disastrous results, but its creation was a stroke of genius."

"Thank you, sir." Now Severus felt bad for taking the credit for Lily's spell, but when he saw her waiting for him with Tom outside the Slytherin common room, he was sure he'd done the right thing.

"Severus," she called, and went running down the hall to meet him. "I just heard what happened and came right away. They're all blaming you for creating the spell, accusing you of using Dark Magic! I wanted to tell everyone the truth, but Tom said I should wait. You have to let me go to the Headmaster and tell him I did it. This could ruin all your plans! I'm so sorry, Severus. And that poor boy, Evan Rosier. He almost died because of me!"

She was sobbing softly. Severus put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. It was the first time he'd held her like this, the first time he'd kissed her. The few times he'd let himself daydream of kissing her, it had been under a far different set of circumstances.

Tom had walked down the hall and now was standing with them. "What did the Headmaster say? They aren't going to expel you, are they?" he asked.

Lily pulled back a bit to listen as Severus explained. "No, everything is fine." He smiled slightly at Lily to show her his words were true. "Because I'm underage, the curse is registered under the school's name, not mine. It won't be on any of my records. And the Headmaster created a counter for it. Everyone who was shown Sectumsempra will learn the counter also. So you see, it's okay, I didn't even mention you."

He wiped the tears away from Lily's face. He hated when she was sad; she had such pretty eyes. He hadn't paid much attention before to how beautiful she was. Why was he only seeing it now?

Severus was never one to show much feeling of any kind. It was safer that way. He couldn't be hurt if he never let on what mattered to him, but all he could think about at that moment was making Lily smile. He leaned down and lightly kissed her on the lips. She looked at him, her eyes going wide. He removed his arms from around her and stepped back, a look of horror on his face. One of the few good things he had in his life was their friendship, and he hoped he hadn't just ruined it.

Then her hand was around the back of his neck, pulling him down to her, and now she was kissing him . Not the light, quick kind of kiss that he'd just given her, but one that made his pulse race, one that included teeth and tongues and lips. It was the kind of kiss he'd only ever imagined but had never thought would become a reality. They barely heard Tom as he said he'd talk to them later and walked away.

She had tasted like chocolate, and to this day, Severus couldn't smell a cup of hot cocoa without being reminded of the sweetness of that kiss.

Severus groaned as he set his glass of wine on the table. "Damn that brat Evans!" he exclaimed out loud as he stood up and began pacing around the room. He hated when he fell into his memories like this, but it had been happening more and more often recently, the closer it came to the start of the term — the term that brought Harry Evans to Hogwarts.

When Severus saw the first years enter the Great Hall, he knew exactly which one was Evans. The only difference between Lily at eleven and her son was the color of the hair. Hers had been a beautiful auburn, while his was black as coal. The styling was even the same, windblown and wild.

Severus was fortunate that everyone's attention was on the Sorting. The others wouldn't notice how his eyes were glued to the boy. He felt a painful sensation churn in his stomach, as if he'd eaten something bad. Oh, how he hated Evans! When Evans caught him staring, it took every ounce of self-control he possessed not to walk over to the boy and...what? He wanted to slap that smug smile right off his face, to make the little brat hurt, to feel the pain that Severus felt as he looked at this living, breathing embodiment of Lily's betrayal. And he wanted to hug him and kiss him and tell him how much he'd wished Harry was his son, instead of some anonymous stranger's.

Blast it all! The warring feelings made him even angrier with Evans. He was going to make Evans pay dearly.

Reluctantly, as he looked down at the page in his Advanced Potion-Making book he had open in his lap, he grudgingly admired Evans' natural inquisitiveness and knowledge of Potions. It was so much like Lily. Exactly like Lily, in fact. The page was turned to the Pneumon Potion. It was the one for which Lily had created Sectumsempra. When they couldn't use it anymore, he'd developed the healing salve as a special gift for Lily. He'd hated to see the blisters on her hands, but she'd refused to let him cut up enough Dieffenbachiam for them both.

Along with creating the salve, he'd been able to change the amount of Dieffenbachiam needed in the Potion by experimenting with different angles of cut. Instead of the thirty-five, one inch pieces cut at the forty-five degree angle that was called for in the book, he'd found that twenty-four, three-eighths of an inch pieces cut on a thirty-two degree angle worked just as well. Both he and Lily had made the notation of the change in the margin of their books.

The pieces that Evans had cut tonight were all three-eighths of an inch pieces cut at a thirty-two degree angle. Evans had lied. He didn't have a new book from Flourish and Blotts; he had Lily's book.

After the Sectumsempra incident, they'd placed tracking spells on their books in case one was ever lost or stolen. Now he activated the spell on Lily's book. It showed it to be exactly where he expected — in Ravenclaw Tower.

Yes, Evans was exactly like Lily — a deceitful, lying little slut.

Severus would take care of Evans tomorrow.

"Evans, come with me."

Harry, Draco, and Hermione were up early on their first Saturday at Hogwarts, already at the Ravenclaw table enjoying breakfast. Even though Harry and Draco had been up late talking, Harry was too excited to sleep in this morning. Draco was content to stay under the covers all day, until Harry mentioned that Hermione would be disappointed if he didn't show up.

They'd been going over how much fun they'd had in their classes this past week. Draco and Hermione, who were in their usual spot across from Harry, went silent as Snape approached Harry from behind. The tingling along the back of Harry's neck had told him who it was before Snape had even spoken.

"Evans, come with me," Snape repeated.

Harry grimaced. He wanted to know where they were going but decided not to ask. It wasn't as if he could refuse to go.

He followed a few steps behind Snape as they left the Great Hall. He expected to head towards the dungeons. Snape must have found some fault with the Dieffenbachiam he'd cut; he wouldn't put it past Snape to make him cut it all up again. Just the thought of enduring another three pain-filled hours was enough to make him almost lose his breakfast. But then they turned away from the dungeons and started up the stairs to Ravenclaw Tower.

The common room was empty; it was still too early for most of the students to be up on a Saturday. Snape stalked through the common room and down the hall of the boys' dormitory, directly to Harry and Draco's room.

"Where is your trunk?" he demanded. Harry felt even sicker now. Oh gods, how had Snape known? Harry had been stupid for underestimating the hatred and vindictiveness of this man.

Harry pointed over to the corner where his trunk was stored next to Draco's. Snape strode over and opened the lid. It only took a second of rummaging around before he found what he'd been looking for. Turning to Harry with a smug look of triumph, he held out Advanced Potion-Making .

"What did I tell you about lying to me, Evans? I can have you expelled for this."

Harry was trembling. Why hadn't he hidden the book away? "Please, sir. I'm sorry I lied. I...I was afraid you'd take my book away if you knew I had it here."

"You are quite right, Evans. I am confiscating this and going to the Headmaster immediately. I think you should begin packing your things. This type of rule-breaking is not tolerated at Hogwarts."

Snape rounded to leave. Harry was in a panic. "No, wait!" he shouted, and ran in between Snape and the door. Placing his hands on Snape's arms, he attempted to stop Snape from going any further.

" Please, Professor Snape. That book was my mum's — it's very special to me. Please don't take it away! I'll do anything you want. I'll serve detention every Friday for the rest of the year; I'll cut up all the ingredients you need for your classes; I'll clean out the storeroom every week and the classroom every day! Anything, anything you want, just please, please let me have my book." He was close to tears. He didn't care about being expelled as much as he cared about getting his mum's book back.

"Release me, Evans," Snape said dangerously.

Harry let go and stepped back. Snape moved to the door, closed it and warded it. Turning back to Harry, he held out the book. Surprised, Harry reached for it, but Snape did not immediately let it go.

"Anything I want, Evans," he stated, releasing the book.

Harry returned it to the trunk, then walked back to Snape, his pulse racing. He didn't like to think about what Snape meant by anything.

"What do you want me to do?" he whispered, his fear obvious.

Snape slowly reached out and cupped Harry's face in his hands, bent down and spoke softly in Harry's ear. "You're too young right now to give me what I want, but one day you will be of age," Snape said, and his breath was hot and it sent shivers throughout Harry's body. "When that time comes, remember what you offered me today: anything. You will do anything I want, and one of those things will be that I am to be your first lover. No one is to touch you before then, and no one is to know of this: not your little friends, not your family, no one. You won't like what happens to you if I find out you've discussed this with anyone. Do I make myself clear?" His hands tightened on Harry's face for a second to emphasize his point.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied, in a throaty, breathless voice.

Snape released him, removed the wards and left in a blur of wool and black.

Harry let out his breath and collapsed on his bed, his heart pounding like a drum. What had he just done? What had he just promised?

Hell, he may be young, but he wasn't so naïve that he didn't know exactly what he'd promised.

He had seven years to get used to the idea, but even if he had seven hundred, he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to accept that one day, he was going to have to have sex with Snape.

*Quoted from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by J K Rowling.

Scene 4: The Legend of the Potions Magi

Five years had passed since that day in Harry's dorm. Harry had kept his promise and he'd never told anyone about it, not even Draco. Harry gave up trying to date anyone; it only earned him detentions. The last thing he wanted was to spend more time alone with Snape, but it had gotten to the point now that Snape didn't even bother to give Harry detentions. It was simply understood that he was to spend his Friday nights in the dungeons. When Harry no longer had detention as an excuse, he told Draco and Hermione that Snape had agreed to give him private tutoring in advanced potions that were outside the regular curriculum. Harry knew it was a flimsy excuse, but it was all he could think of to tell them.

The excuse also helped to explain some of the bruises and abrasions that he returned with after his sessions with Snape. Snape was always careful. He never did anything that Harry could use against him, but always found little ways to hurt him: insect stings from sorting out ingredients, cuts from broken glass vials, burns from splatters from boiling cauldrons. Most times Snape had him cleaning out — something. It didn't matter what, only that Harry wasn't allowed to use any protective gloves. Afterwards, Harry's hands or arms would be blistered and raw, and he'd have to endure Snape's touches as Snape would slowly and sensually work in the healing salve.

In class, Snape was more subtle but no less harassing. A light brush of his hand against Harry's face or a touch to the back of his neck was commonplace and expected these days, no longer unnerving him the way it had in first and second year. Now that Harry was older, Snape had taken things up a notch. His favorite thing to do to Harry was to pretend to be examining the contents of his cauldron, gliding up from behind and rubbing up against him, pressing an unmistakable hardness into Harry's back. Snape also enjoyed using Harry as his test subject.

The worst had been in fourth year. Snape had used Harry to demonstrate to the class the effectiveness of a Bezoar as an antidote, forcing Harry to drink an unidentified poison. When Harry balked, Snape had called Hermione up to the front, knowing Harry would give in. Harry could still remember the terrifying feeling of not being able to breathe, of a burning sensation pumping through his veins as if he had been injected with hot lava. Snape held him in a vice-like embrace to keep him from thrashing around in his panic, all the while lecturing the class about the Bezoar as he held it inches from Harry's mouth. It was in that instant that Harry accepted his own death; he was sure Snape would not give him the Bezoar in time as he melted into Snape's arms, feeling relaxed and at peace. The next thing he knew, he was lying on the floor at Snape's feet, taking in huge gulps of air. Apparently the Bezoar had worked.

It was bad enough that Snape went after Harry, but he also heaped abuse on Draco and Hermione. Today, Hermione was the target of Snape's ire. They were studying the Elixir of Life when Hermione had asked about a similar potion, the Water of Life, and its creators, the Potions Magi, causing Snape to go off on one of his tirades.

"And along with the Potions Magi, I suppose you also believe in Legilimency, and that fire was created by a dragon and a phoenix mating," he sneered.

"Well, no, Professor Snape. Everyone knows you can't read minds. And there's no such thing as a phoenix. That's ridiculous."

"If you know Legilimency and phoenixes do not exist, why would you believe in the Potions Magi? Detention, Miss Granger, for wasting the class's time on silly superstitions and myths."

Draco and Harry tried to cheer Hermione up as they left the dungeons after class, making their way to the Ravenclaw common room.

"Hermione," Harry began, "you know it was only a matter of time. Snape gets all of us sooner or later. You managed to go two months without a detention this year. That has to be a record."

Draco added, "At least we don't get as many as the Gryffindors do. And truthfully," he paused, knowing it was a sore point with his best friend, "if we weren't friends with Harry, I don't think he'd be after us."

"I know that," Hermione said, stomping hard up the steps, "but I'm not going to stop associating with Harry just to avoid detentions. And what a flimsy excuse for giving me one too! It was a legitimate question. I only wanted to know if the Elixir of Life was related to the Water of Life. There was no reason for him to get so upset with me about it," she said, exasperated.

They'd reached the common room now. It was still early in the afternoon and mostly empty, as everyone else had class. The three of them had a free period after Potions, which was always welcomed since they normally had to recover from some type of abuse at Snape's hands. Hermione immediately flopped into the oversized chair next to the fireplace. Draco and Harry both took seats at the table so they could get a start on their Potions essay: thirty inches on 'The Dangers of Prolonged Use of the Elixir of Life'.

"So, Hermione," Harry asked, "what is the Water of Life anyway? I've never heard of it before today, and I've read through all our Potions books at least three times, including One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi ."

"I found out about it by accident, really. It's not in any of the school textbooks. It's categorized as a myth, but with a possible basis in reality, so I suppose that's why we don't study it in school. I was researching careers in Magical Medicine over the summer and happened to find a reference to it in a footnote. Well, you know me. I'd never heard of it before either, so I had to find out what it was. Most of what I found out about it was in an astrology book of all things. It's a potion that is the end result of a ritual: The Ritual of the Sun and The Moon.

"The story goes that when the world was newly created, the Sun and the Moon ruled the skies, the Sun the daytime and the Moon the night. However, there were certain times of the month when they would share the sky. They fell in love but were sad because they could never reach each other. Venus saw their unhappiness and took pity on them. She helped them to become human for a day. They descended to Earth and made passionate love. The sound of the heavens singing of their happiness and the beautiful light that shone from them lured a young boy over to them. The boy had been walking in the woods, searching for ingredients to make a potion to cure a fatal illness that was devastating his village.

"When the boy saw them, he was so overcome with a sense of peace and belonging, that he asked if he could go with them, not realizing who they were at first. He was disappointed when they said they weren't able to take him with them, as they had to return to their places in the sky. They saw his sadness and felt sorry for him, so asked him if there was something else he would like instead. He told them he was trying to create a potion to save the lives of his fellow villagers because everyone was dying from a mysterious disease.

"Because they could see the goodness of his heart, they granted him a special power. He became able to turn the Sun's light essence into liquid gold and the Moon's light essence into liquid silver. If he took the two liquids and added his own essence, blood, to them, the resulting liquid would cure the illness in his village. As they returned to the sky, they told him the one thing he must not do was to allow anyone to drink the pure light, or Heaven's Essence, before adding the human essence. Doing so would cause the drinker to become immortal.

"Now this is the part of the legend that's vague." Hermione paused as she caught her breath. "There doesn't seem to be any actual description of how he created the Heaven's Essence, only that he did as instructed, added his blood, and it turned clear like water. When he gave it to the sick villagers, they became well. It thus became known as the Water of Life.

"When he told the villagers how it happened, they honored the Sun and the Moon with a celebration, and each year the villagers continued the tradition of thanks. Over time, the reputation of the Great Potions Mage, as the boy came to be known, reached other lands. Outsiders came from far and wide to learn the Ritual of the Sun and the Moon. Then the Potions Mage realized the potential temptations that came with the gift, and so he created the Vows of Heaven that everyone had to take before he would show them how to make Heaven's Essence. Breaking any part of the Vows would result in the Potions Mage losing his power."

"So what are the Vows of Heaven?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. I could never find any information on them. All I could find mentioned was that they have to be taken first or you wouldn't be shown the Ritual. The few, supposedly eye-witness accounts of a Potions Mage performing the Ritual, only mentions the Mage going into a trancelike state, with an explosion of light and music occurring at the moment the liquid gold and silver appear. The Mage then makes a cut on his wrist, drips his blood into the Heaven's Essence, and it turns clear."

"So then, no one really knows what happens when the Potions Mage goes into his trance?" Draco asked.

"No, not for sure. There are plenty of theories, but as no one is alive now who's ever seen the Ritual performed, who can say? Professor Snape is right though. I'm sure the legend of the Potions Magi is just a way that ancient people explained celestial phenomena like lunar and solar eclipses. The search for the Water of Life dates back for as long as humans have been on the earth. The Fountain of Youth is the most recent incarnation of the tale. It's supposed to be located somewhere in the state of Florida. The explorer Ponce de Leon searched for it all his life and never found it."

"So what happened to the Potions Magi? Why did they disappear?" It was Harry's turn to ask a question this time.

"Well, the legend says they used to be a respected part of the wizarding world, back when Muggles knew magic existed and lived in harmony with wizards. The Potions Magi went around to areas as epidemics broke out and helped cure the sick. Sometimes they'd be overwhelmed and couldn't keep up with making enough potion; many would still die, even with their assistance. Other times they were able to wipe out the disease completely.

"Unfortunately, evil and greedy men saw that the Heaven's Essence looked like gold and silver. One man in particular, Gellert Grindelwald, did his best to force the Potions Magi into creating gold and silver for him. When they chose death over creating the Heaven's Essence, he started a campaign against them, accusing them of being the ones to create the illnesses in the first place in order for them to become rich by selling cures. The Potions Magi never charged for the Water of Life, but once the rumor was started, the doubt was planted in people's minds.

"An incident occurred in a large town where an epidemic was taking place. Death from this epidemic was quick; there wasn't more than a day or two between the onset of symptoms and death. Over half the town was wiped out before the Magi could get enough of the Water of Life created and distributed. Those survivors who had relatives who'd died, accused the Potions Magi of delaying the potion in order to get money from them. The Potions Magi in that town were all slaughtered, and riots spread throughout the country. Mobs attacked and killed any and all Potions Magi they could find. This part of their history became known as the Purges.

"At the same time as the Purges, the Witch Trials began. As a result, the Statute of Secrecy, along with the Prohibition of Potions Act, were passed by the Wizengamot. The wizarding world decided that Muggles didn't deserve their healing and medical assistance. The Prohibition of Potions Act made it illegal to give or sell potions to Muggles. Supposedly, some Potions Magi managed to survive the Purges and went into hiding. They didn't agree with the ban against helping Muggles. They felt it was grief and ignorance that had led to the Purges, so they kept hidden from both worlds and worked underground. The Ritual of the Sun and the Moon, through necessity of secrecy, became hereditary, passed down from one generation to the next within the same family.

"The Potions Control and Monitoring Board was created by the Prohibition of Potions Act. Permits for brewing and buying ingredients had to be obtained. Education and practice of Potions Masters, a less powerful type of Potions Mage, was controlled and licensed. You can see how all this leads up to our present day education system here at Hogwarts and at Durmstrang."

"So my having to continue my education at Durmstrang in order to become a Potions Master is all because of some ancient legend?" Harry asked.

"I just think it's a way to justify the current state of things in our world. I mean, can you ever remember a time without the Control Board? It allows the government to invade our privacy, but was developed under the guise of protecting us. It's quite frightening in a way, if you think about it."

"But one of the functions of the Control Board is to approve the distribution of potions to Muggles," Draco said. "Father is a member and complains all the time about cases that don't get approval, or ones that they aren't able to help because the potions aren't powerful enough. Dreamless Sleep and Skele-Gro can only do so much."

"Well," Hermione continued, "the law was modified back in 1832, when there was some kind of major epidemic that hit the Muggles," she explained. "So many Muggles were dying that an emergency session of the Wizengamot was called to argue whether to assist or not. Enough time had passed that memories of the Purges had faded, and by then, wizards weren't even sure anymore that the Potions Magi were real. A vote was taken to allow potions to be given to Muggles surreptitiously. Wizards infiltrated the Muggle medical facilities and professions in order to distribute potions and alleviate the suffering. So, the function of the Control Board was changed to determine who in the Muggle world could receive our potions. Not all Muggles can be or should be helped. We don't want to raise suspicions by suddenly having an entire town of sick residents cured overnight!"

"It seems like there could be the potential for abuse, doesn't it? I mean, couldn't a Board member withhold their approval unless they received some kind of payoff from the Muggle's family or something?" Harry asked.

"There are six members on the board, plus the chairman to break any tied votes," Draco explained. "All members, except for the chairman, have to go through a rigorous background check and approval process. Every year, a different member comes up for re-approval, and the entire Wizengamot votes. That way, if a member seems to have any conflicts of interest, they can be voted out. In an emergency, the chairman can call a special session and have a member expelled if he feels there is cause. And the chairman is always whoever is the current Head of the Auror Department, so he's already been through a background check for his job.

"Father has been a member since before I was born. Almost all have jobs in other departments at the Ministry and look at being part of the Board as their public service contribution." Draco turned to Harry. "You did know your Uncle Tom is the current chairman, didn't you?"

Harry was shocked. "No, I didn't. We never talk about his work. He's always said it's boring any time I asked, so I don't bring it up anymore, not since before I started at Hogwarts. Hey, is that how he knows your father, because he's the chairman of the Board?"

"I can't believe you're only realizing that now!" Draco snickered good-naturedly. "They were also at Hogwarts together, in Slytherin."

"So what was that thing about dragons and phoenixes, fire and mating?" Harry asked, changing the subject away from his ignorance about Tom.

Hermione laughed and Draco smirked again as he told Harry, "You really must have led a sheltered life at your aunt's house. I thought your aunt was magical?"

"No, she's a Squib. She begged Professor Dumbledore to let her come to Hogwarts with my mum, but he wouldn't allow it. I think that practice is cruel, actually, to have to separate a family like that. You'd think they would come up with special classes that Squibs could attend so they could stay close to their magical brothers and sisters."

Draco looked thoughtful. "That's not a bad idea; I should talk to Father about it. Maybe there's something we can do after we graduate."

"Anyway," Hermione said, "The Dragon and the Phoenix is a fable about the creation of fire. A dragon and a phoenix fell in love, but when their parents found out, they were forbidden to see each other anymore because dragons and phoenixes had always been mortal enemies. Instead of listening to their parents, they decided to fly away together. They made their home in the mountains and after a year, the phoenix became pregnant and gave birth to Fire. That's the legend anyway."

"Thanks for explaining all of this, Hermione. And I thought I knew everything about potions! Even if the Water of Life isn't real, it's a truly fascinating myth. There certainly are a lot of legends in the wizarding world having to do with love," Harry said.

"It's a very powerful emotion, with a magic all its own, so I expect that's the reason," Draco said, blushing and taking a sidelong glance at Hermione.

Coming to Draco's rescue, Harry said sheepishly, "I'm sorry you got detention, Hermione. Draco's right. It's only because of me that he picks on you. Why are you even taking NEWT-level Potions? Neither one of you likes Potions that much," he said, looking from one to the other. "I'm the one that wants to own an Apothecary."

"You don't think we'd make you face him alone, do you?" Hermione asked quietly. "Who knows what he'd do to you if we weren't there to keep an eye on him."

Shocked by her revelation, Harry stared at Hermione, then looked over to Draco. They'd been talking about him behind his back, about what was happening to him, about Professor Snape.

Draco looked guilty, but held his ground. "You won't talk about it. Every time I bring it up you always find a way to change the subject, but I'm not blind. I see the way he...touches you sometimes in class. He isn't that way with anyone else. And when you come back from his detentions, you're always so upset. I've seen...I've seen some of the bruises you have on your wrists and arms. What in the world is he doing?"

"Stop it!" Harry shouted. "Stop it right now!" He stood up from the table and began packing up his books. He would finish his essay in the library.

"Harry." Hermione was near tears. "Don't. It's only because we care about you that we worry." She walked over and placed her hand gently on his arm. "Is he...is he hurting you, Harry?" she asked softly. "Because if he is-" Now her voice was filled with venom.

"No!" he said quickly, too quickly and too loudly, because he could tell they didn't believe him.

"No," he said again, this time with less panic in his voice. "Really, he's not doing anything so very bad. I can't explain it all, not yet anyway. I'm sorry. Just trust me, please, I swear I'm okay. He hates me, we all know that. I have to put up with him for now because I refuse to let him kill my dream. One day I'll find out the reason why, what I've done to him, but until then...." He had to stop talking. He didn't want to say the wrong thing accidentally. Snape would know somehow if he did, and who knew what Snape would do to him then. Harry wasn't sure if, after all this time, Snape could still have him expelled. Harry didn't think so, but he wasn't willing to take that chance.

"Look, I feel bad that he takes his hatred for me out on you two. It's just not fair."

"Harry, don't worry," Draco began. "It's not just about trying to protect you from him. I may not have liked Potions when I first got here, but no one can be friends with you for long without catching your passion for the subject. I thought...well, we're best friends, and I'll be going along to Durmstrang with you; and after we graduate we can buy that Apothecary you keep talking about...if that's okay with you."

"And Harry," Hermione added, "the reason I was looking into careers in Magical Medicine was because I thought I could become part of the network that distributes potions to Muggles. You and Draco can supply the potions. That way, all three of us will always stay together!"

Harry felt a warm glow inside, that his friends' plans for their future included him. He felt bad that he couldn't confide in them and assuage their fears, but it was for their safety as well as his. He'd go through hell and back to keep them from getting hurt.

Scene 5: The Reason Revealed

"Harry, where are you going? You don't want to miss the train."

Harry had hoped to be able to leave the Great Hall, unobserved. He should have known better than to expect that Hermione wouldn't notice, but with all the excitement generated at the announcement that Gryffindor had won the house cup this year, he thought he had a good chance at sneaking away.

"I'm just going to take one more look around my room to be sure I haven't forgotten anything."

"Harry, wait," she tried one more time, but he hurried out the door before she could stop him.

Harry's heart was pounding. It was now or never. He'd been thinking about doing this for hours now, when he saw Snape exit the Leaving Feast almost before it had started. He'd wanted to do this on his last Friday night with Snape, down in the dungeons, but lost his nerve. Snape had been uncharacteristically reserved that night, barely touching Harry at all. Harry was disturbed by the fact that he actually missed the feel of Snape's hands. He'd kept waiting for Snape to say something about what he expected from Harry once he turned eighteen this coming July, but Snape had never brought it up. Snape couldn't have forgotten about it, could he? That would have been too much to hope for. Snape had to be avoiding the subject purposely just to make Harry sweat, to make him anxious over what Snape would want from him when the time came to demand Harry fulfill his promise of anything. Well, he still had nearly two months until his birthday, so there was no use dwelling on it. Right now, he had something more important to take care of.

Harry found himself standing in front of the door to Snape's personal chambers. He'd only ever been here once, when Madam Pomfrey had sent him to pick up a potion Snape had made for the infirmary. He paused, raising his hand. There was still time to turn around, to walk back down that dark hallway and join his friends. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he knocked solidly three times and waited.

"Well," Snape spoke in that tone of loathing he reserved just for Harry, "I wondered if you'd have the courage to show up here." He motioned Harry in.

"You were expecting me?" Harry asked, surprised.

"I know you, Evans. I know how you think. You couldn't just leave, could you? You had an opportunity to simply get on with your life, but no. It's your last day at Hogwarts, your last opportunity to ask me why, isn't it?" Snape spoke with a touch of malice. "Go ahead, then. Ask and get out."

"All right," Harry began. He would not allow Snape to intimidate him, to keep him from doing what he needed to do. "For seven years, I've wondered why, from that very first day I walked into the Great Hall, you've hated me. I've done everything I could to try and earn your respect, but nothing has worked. I've had perfect grades every year in your class, but it hasn't been enough to change your mind about me. You don't have to like me, but why do you have to hate me so much?"

"Evans, I guarantee you do not want to know the answer. Take this chance I'm giving you to go while you still can."

"Why are you doing this?" Harry was becoming frustrated, his voice getting louder. "Why won't you tell me the truth?"

"Because, Evans," and Snape's voice rose in pitch and anger to match Harry's, "you would be unable to accept it! Now leave, or you will miss your train." Snape took Harry by the arm and dragged him towards the door.

"No, let go of me!" Harry jerked free from Snape's grip. "I'm not leaving until you tell me why you hate me so much!"

Snape was livid. How dare Evans show up here, demanding he remember, demanding he reveal the secret behind his hatred? Evans wanted the truth? So be it! Snape would give him that and more.

"All right!" Snape snarled. "You asked for it. Remember that! I do hate you. I hate everything about you. I hate that you exist. I hate having had to look at you every day for the past seven years, every day being reminded that you should have been my son, every day being reminded that I wasn't enough, that instead of waiting for me, your slut of a mother was sleeping with anything that moved. Not only that, she was so stupid and careless that she got pregnant by some stranger. She didn't even know his name!"

Snape was panting with fury now as he spat the words into Harry's stunned face.

"My mother? What are you talking about? You didn't even remember her name! You don't know anything about my mum." Then like a bolt of lightning, understanding flashed through his mind and he recalled Uncle Tom's words from so long ago: she was in love with someone else, another friend of ours at school...but he didn't love her back.

"I know she lied to me about loving me, that as soon as I left for Durmstrang, she started going out behind my back and sleeping around. Things like that have a way of getting back to a person. Tom Riddle was there; you don't have to believe me, just ask him since he's such a good friend of yours. She even tried to seduce him, so don't tell me I don't know anything about your mother."

"No! I don't believe you! You're lying! You're making it up!" Harry yelled.

"I'm sorry to shatter your illusions, Evans, but it's true. You're the bastard son of a two-timing slut that didn't care about what she did or who she hurt."

Harry lunged at Snape and punched him with all the strength he had. Snape was caught off guard, falling back against the door with the force of the blow. Quickly recovering, Snape shoved Harry into the wall with all his might, causing Harry to hiss in pain as his head collided with the stone. He struggled against Snape's hold on his arms, but Snape was stronger and heavier and Harry couldn't break free this time.

"What's the matter, Evans? The truth is what you came here for, isn't it? If you weren't prepared to hear it, you shouldn't have asked. I told you to get out and you should have listened to me. Well now it's too late. Now you know the truth. I hate you for opening wounds that should have healed by now. I hate you for being so much like her, for never letting me forget what a fool I was to fall in love with her, letting her send me away when I should have shown her that she was mine, that she belonged to me and only me. Well, I won't make that same mistake with you."

Then Snape was kissing Harry, violently biting and forcing his way into Harry's mouth. Harry tried to kick him away, but Snape's grip was like iron on his wrists as Snape wrenched them up over his head and held them against the wall, using one hand. He wrapped the other hand around Harry's throat, tightening his grip just enough to make Harry stop struggling. Snape pushed his entire weight against Harry, his knee forcing Harry's legs apart and his hip bone pressing harshly into Harry's groin. The pressure hurt as Snape continued to grind his hip into Harry's hardening cock. Freeing Harry's mouth, Snape attacked his neck, biting down hard at the tender spot just above his shoulder, marking Harry as his.

Harry was scared; his blood was roaring in his ears like a raging river. He'd never felt so powerless in his life. Snape was strong, and his hand around Harry's throat could crush his windpipe with very little effort, snuffing out his life at the moment of Snape's choosing. Harry wasn't afraid of death at Snape's hands though; Snape could have withheld the Bezoar from him back in fourth year if he'd really wanted him dead. No, what scared Harry the most was how much Snape's domination of him filled him with desire. Snape's touch had always made his body tingle, but now he felt as if every part of him that made contact with Snape was on fire. He felt an inexplicable need to please Snape, to fulfill the promise of anything, no matter what that anything might be. He wanted more, but he wasn't sure what more was. He didn't have much experience with sex, other than normal teenage wanking.

Harry wrapped one leg around the back of Snape's knee and pulled him closer, thrusting up and rubbing his cock into Snape's hip, moans of lust escaping them both. Now they were frantically and rhythmically frotting against each other. Neither lasted long, Snape coming first with a quiet grunt, followed by Harry's louder cry, his face wet with tears. They stayed like that, leaning into each other and breathing hard, their hearts pounding in unison, Snape's hand still around Harry's throat, but now in more of a caress. Harry could taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth from where Snape had bitten him.

"Well, Evans," Snape said quietly as he let go of Harry. "You've turned out to be exactly like your mother — a little whore."

Harry closed his eyes. He couldn't look at the man any longer. Of all the things Snape had ever said or done to him in the past seven years, these words hurt the worst of all.

With a sigh, Harry walked to the door. But before he left, he said, "Thank you, Professor."

"For what?" Snape asked with a sneer.

"For finally telling me why you hate me. I see now that it isn't anything I've done, or anything lacking on my part. The one with the problem all this time has been you."

"Get out!" Snape shouted. "I don't ever want to see you again! Get out!"

Harry left Snape's office quickly and hurried towards the common room to make himself presentable. At least the hallways were deserted, so he wouldn't run into anyone and have to explain his condition. He was sure he had blood on his lip from where Snape had bitten him, and his trousers were uncomfortably sticky. Harry's wrists hurt where Snape had dug his fingers into the soft flesh. Bruises were already starting to form and the backs of his hands were raw where the skin had been scraped off by the rough stone wall.

As violent as the confrontation had been, Harry felt satisfaction at accomplishing what he'd set out to do, finally knowing that it wasn't his fault after all, that there wasn't anything, other than not being born, that he could have done to keep Snape from hating him all this time. And Snape had said he didn't want to see him again. He knew he should be happy about it, but for some inexplicable reason, he wasn't. He no longer had to worry about fulfilling the promise he'd made in desperation so long ago, but he hadn't realized how much he'd been looking forward to going to Snape on his eighteenth birthday, to letting the man take his virginity and whatever else he wanted. Maybe Snape was right about him and he was just a whore. Why else would he want to have sex with a man as mean and spiteful towards him as Snape?

Harry had finally reached the common room. He'd have to hurry or he would end up missing the train like Hermione and Snape kept telling him. He was going to miss Hogwarts, but he was looking forward to the next four years of his life at Durmstrang with Draco and Hermione. Thinking beyond that was too far into the future for now.

Part II — The Sun and The Moon

Scene 1: The Forensic Potions and Spell Specialist

The owl landed to the side of the papers that Severus was reading, and waited patiently for him to take the message from its outstretched leg. Severus reached over to the bowl with treats, affectionately ruffling the owl behind the ear before placing its reward in its beak. The owl waited, expecting a reply.

Tom only used his personal owl for something important, and the fact that he'd sent her to Spinner's End meant it was something confidential, something Tom did not want the Auror Department or, for that matter, the Ministry to know about.

Severus,

An issue has been brought to my attention as a result of the last meeting of the Board. I would like to come by this evening at seven and discuss it with you if you are free. Please send your reply back with Vida.

Tom

Now that was interesting. What could have happened with the Potions Control and Monitoring Board that would cause Tom to come to Spinner's End? Tom hated Spinner's End and constantly badgered Severus to find a place more fitting his station in life. Severus could never explain to Tom adequately enough that this was his home, and that the warmth and safety he felt here were more important to him than appearances.

Severus had been working for the Auror Department as a Forensic Potions and Spell Specialist for five years. He'd resigned his teaching position at Hogwarts the year that Evans left. The school held too many memories for him, and with Evans gone, he had no reason to stay. He hadn't realized how much having Evans in his life had given it meaning. Back in those days, he had lived to torment the brat, thinking it would give him some kind of satisfaction, some kind of feeling that he was paying Lily back, and that by hurting her son, he was hurting her too. It had felt good at the time, but then Evans was gone and he was at a loss as to what to do next. Now, he had successfully left that episode in his life behind him and had given in to Tom's overtures to come and work for him at the Ministry. Severus enjoyed his job, and he could honestly say that for the first time in his life, he was content, even if he was lonely at times.

As a Forensic Potions and Spell Specialist, he was called in whenever a wizard or witch was found murdered or died under suspicious circumstances. It was his responsibility to test for any potions or spells that may have been used. Many times, there were decoys present in an attempt to mask the actual ones which had done the killing. It took perseverance, skill, knowledge, and sometimes just dumb luck, to determine which potion or spell was the actual cause of death.

Along with investigating the deaths of wizards, he could also be summoned to work on Muggle cases where death was suspected to have been caused by magical means. But where Severus stood apart from any of his predecessors was in his ability to detect potions and spells used on living wizards or Muggles. In other words, he could determine which potion or spell had been used when an attempted murder had occurred. No one had ever had the skill to do that on a living human being before.

Severus had developed his methods of live analysis by integrating Muggle medical and computer technology with magic. No one had ever tried it before because everyone knew magic interfered with Muggle electronics. Severus was not one to be told you can't do that; all it did was make him more determined to show naysayers that yes, he could!

Severus had begun with the problem of getting a laptop computer to work around magic. Wizards had been trying for years to create a Shield Charm that would work on computers, but so far they'd all failed. Their mistake was in trying to shield the entire machine. Severus decided to use multiple, smaller shields around individual components: the CPU, the memory sticks, the hard disk drives, the display, and any other component necessary to keep the laptop in working order. It had taken him two years before he'd been able to successfully perfect his customized shields.

Once Severus was able to keep the laptop operating around magic, he began testing how it would react to magical modification of some of the components. His goal was to be able to have the results of his scans automatically recorded onto a miniaturized portable disk drive that he could carry in his pocket. A year later, he was able to modify a ward-breaching tactic to allow his specific spell signature through the magical shield just long enough to transfer the results to the drive. Once Severus was able to save the results without any corruption to the data, he'd taken a Muggle statistics algorithm, applied Rune theory to it, and created an analysis program that could quickly identify individual potion ingredients found in the body of the victim. It didn't matter if the victim was living or dead, and it didn't matter how minute the ingredient was; his program identified anything present that had a magical signature associated with it, even a faint one.

Of course, with the exception of Tom, no one knew the reason behind Severus' unprecedented success rate. He kept it a closely guarded secret. Severus expected that after he retired, he'd publish his processes and methods, but that day was many, many years away. Until then, let the world simply think he was a highly skilled Forensic wizard.

"Tom, come in. I was surprised to receive your owl. Would you like something to drink?" Severus greeted Tom at the door, leading him into the sitting room.

Spinner's End had been the home where Severus spent his childhood. Four years after his father's death, his mother had remarried and moved out, leaving the house to Severus. He had closed it up while he taught at Hogwarts, but when he'd resigned, he came back here. Severus could understand why Tom disliked his small home, for it was rumored that Tom had a mansion in Little Hangleton. Severus had never been there, but not many people had, since Tom was almost fanatical in keeping his life private. It wasn't that Tom never socialized - quite the opposite in fact - but when he did, it was always in a public setting. If he were hosting an event, it always took place in a rented venue; never, ever in his own mansion.

"Thank you, Severus, some red wine would be nice."

After Severus returned with their drinks, he waited politely for Tom to begin.

"Well, I know I have you wondering what's going on. First, I need to get you to agree to keep what I'm about to tell you confidential. I'm sure it goes without saying, as this is an official investigation, but as it involves a member or members of the Ministry, you can understand why I have to be cautious."

"Of course, Tom, you have my word. Ministry officials — that's serious business," Severus said, intrigued.

"Yes, well, it's worse than that. Not just any Ministry officials. I have reason to suspect that a Board member is passing confidential information to someone. That someone is...well, I really have no idea who that someone is.

"I don't have to tell you what the Board's responsibilities are, and we've had the same six members now for ten years, with the exception of Gregory Goyle who took his father's place when Mr. Goyle senior passed away two years ago. Prior to that, Bellatrix Black was the junior member, taking her cousin's place when Regulus was killed. So you have to understand that it's difficult for me to come to you like this. These people are not only Board members, they're all close, personal friends. I feel like I'm betraying them, but this is too serious to ignore.

"Anyway, it's come to my attention that some of our rejected cases are...miraculously...recovering."

It took a moment for Tom's words to sink in before Severus realized what he was saying. "Someone is illegally passing healing potions to Muggles without Board approval," Severus stated.

"Yes, and it's occurring in one place. I've drawn up a list." Tom handed a roll of parchment to Severus. "These are the rejected cases over the past twelve months. I've put marks next to the ones who've recovered. I've also indicated the ones who've passed away, and a few I couldn't find in order to determine their status. I didn't go further back than that because, as you can see, the numbers started changing last September. Before that, they look the way I'd expect them to be."

Severus took several minutes to look over the listing, which was quite long. The cases were all at the same Muggle Hospital: the Royal Free in Hampstead, London.

"So do you have anyone in mind?" Severus asked as he rolled up the parchment.

"No, I have no idea. It makes me sick even to think that any of them would do this purposely. I'm guessing that one of them is unknowingly letting the information out, as pillow talk or something. I doubt it would be Lucius, since he was the one who pushed for keeping case details confidential, after what happened with Narcissa when Peter Pettigrew was able to get a copy of the meeting notes. As far as I know, Bellatrix and Greg are not involved with anyone. Bellatrix is known for her casual relationships, and in the past year, the longest lasted only two months. Greg is out at a different Muggle club every week, never leaving with the same person. That leaves Alecto Carrow, Fenrir Greyback, and Barty Crouch, Sr. I have my doubts that it could be Fenrir, if only because of his condition, and too many of these cases were cured during the full moon. He wouldn't have been at the meetings to know of some of them. Alecto and Amicus have been married for fifteen years, and Barty Crouch has had a partner for twenty-seven, but that doesn't mean they're not having affairs, although I've no evidence they are."

Severus took a sip of his wine while they both sat in silence, thinking over the situation. He loved to have a fire going in the fireplace, and although it was mid-July and warm, he kept a magical one going to provide flickering light without the heat. He'd brought his favorite chair with him from Hogwarts, and his habit of reading in front of the fireplace while sipping a nice Merlot or Cabernet had remained the same. Unfortunately, with the demands of his job, he didn't get much time to partake of the pleasure. The current Muggle classic on his table, Billy Budd by Herman Melville, had been there for several weeks, untouched.

"So how did you discover this?" Severus asked. It might give him a lead as to where to start looking.

"It was just by chance. I had some business in Muggle London and while I waited, looked at some Muggle newspapers on the table. I've always thought that the way their photos don't move is fascinating - to be able to freeze a moment in time like that - so I started looking through the most current paper. One of the photos was of a little boy in a hospital, smiling, his mother and father standing next to his bed. The caption said something about the boy miraculously recovering after he'd been near death, and I thought I recognized the name. Sure enough, when I checked our meeting notes from last week, the boy's case had been one we rejected as hopeless; we have no potions available that could have cured him. I started checking on some of our other rejected cases, the result being that list there." Tom pointed to the parchment in Severus' hand. "Many cases were rejected because treatment and recovery would be too suspicious. At other times, it was because, like in the boy's case, the disease could not be cured. That's what scares me more than anything, the fact that there is something new and unknown being used to cure fatal Muggle diseases. The potential for the wizarding world to be discovered because of someone's careless use of a new potion is something I don't even want to think about. There's a reason the Potions Control and Monitoring Board was created in the first place, but the witch hunts and purges were so long ago, that most wizards don't see Muggles as a threat to our way of life anymore."

"I see," Severus said slowly, as he began working out his plan. "Well, I think the first thing I need to do is visit some of the more recently cured individuals and test for potions. It may not be a new potion; it could be the interaction of two or more existing potions that we've never considered before. I'm guessing that since no one in the Ministry knows about this, I'll have to go in surreptitiously without alerting any of the usual Muggle authorities. I'd better start practicing my Disillusionment Charms."

"Thank you, Severus. I knew I could count on you. You're the best at what you do. I always wonder why you stay in the Ministry job instead of contracting out. You've been there three years longer than any other Forensics expert in recent memory."

"You know me better than anyone, Tom," Severus admitted. "You know I don't particularly like dealing with people. In the Auror Department, the cases are handed to me, and dead people don't act like stupid idiots. If I contracted out, I'd have to deal with live customers, most of whom are irrational and demanding, wanting their results in half the time than is realistically possible. No amount of money is worth my sanity, although I expect this case will certainly challenge my patience. Dealing with idiotic wizards is bad enough, but now I will have to deal with idiotic Muggles who are also overenthusiastic at getting another chance at life."

"I understand," Tom laughed. "People can be very exasperating at times. Well then, I'll get you an updated list on Monday once the meeting is over. We have the meetings first thing in the morning now, to free up the afternoon for our other duties, so I should be owling it to you around lunchtime. Should I send it here?"

"That would be best, then there's no chance of anyone at the Ministry accidentally finding it on my desk. It's not unusual for me to come here for lunch, so I'll be here to receive it. I'll leave the upstairs window open just in case I'm not and ward it so only Vida can get through. Are you still holding daily meetings?"

"Yes, it works better that way, keeping the meetings short. Well, as short as can be expected, given how many cases we have to review each day." Tom stood up, and Severus followed him to the door. "I'll be off. Let me know as soon as you find anything."

"I will. Take care, Tom."

Severus made his way back to his wine, thinking of what Tom had told him. Distributing potions to Muggles without Board approval was a serious offense, with a minimum of ten years in Azkaban. Since the creation of the Board, no wizard had considered breaking the prohibition, mostly because wizards didn't think helping Muggles was worth it.

The thought of a new potion was intriguing; well, it wasn't so much the thought of a new potion as it was the creator of that potion which piqued Severus' interest. Imagine the intelligence it took to create something that could cure a fatal illness? Severus felt a warmth developing somewhere deep inside him at the thought of this wizard, a wizard who had the kind of mind that could conceive of something so powerful. On the other hand, this wizard was careless in not covering his tracks. The numbers on the parchment that Tom had given him were high, too high to not eventually be noticed.

As he opened his book, Severus wondered whether, when he found this mysterious wizard, he'd have the courage to turn him in. It would be Azkaban for sure, more than likely a life sentence, given the numbers involved. What a waste it would be! As he began to read, he couldn't help but identify with Captain Vere's predicament of having to enforce the law, condemning Billy Budd to death.

It was Monday afternoon and Severus was looking over the list of rejected names that Vida had just dropped off. Tom had also included the names from the previous week. Severus hadn't realized how many cases the Board reviewed in a day, and how many they had to reject. And these were just the names that were submitted to the Board; it was only a portion of all the sick and injured Muggles throughout Britain.

Severus first tried to determine if there was any pattern as to who was being helped. Were they only children, males, females, mothers, fathers, the elderly? Did they work in a particular profession? Were they all within a certain age range, nationality, religious affiliation? Did they all live on the same street? Based on the details of each case, no pattern stood out that he could see. The only thing they had in common was that all had been patients at the Royal Free Hospital. If Tom hadn't been fortunate enough to have seen the Muggle photo of the little boy, these cases might never have come to light. So many people were treated at that hospital for so many different ailments, Severus doubted the Muggle doctors would have noticed the high number of patients recovering who would normally have died.

Well, he'd have to tackle the hospital tomorrow. He needed to rest and mentally prepare himself. Each scan would take several minutes of intense focusing on the individual in order to get the most complete set of data, and doing this many was going to take him at least until Friday.

Severus had cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, and even though he wasn't invisible, most Muggles simply didn't notice him. They had their own problems, and since Severus wasn't one of them, it was easy for him to hide in plain sight. Every now and then a young child might see him, but he'd learned a few things from Tom over the years on the art of manipulation. All it took was a smile, a conjured flower, and the inquisitive child was distracted.

Severus felt in his pocket where his miniaturized disk drive was hidden, and with a sigh, he began making his way to the room of the first name on his list. This was going to be a long, long week.

It was Friday evening and finally, Severus had finished his work at the hospital. It had been exhausting, both physically and emotionally. Severus considered himself above maudlin displays, but it had been all he could do to maintain control over himself when meeting some of the patients. He could never be a member of the Board, passing life and death decisions on these people, but he supposed the Board members only saw the names. The children were the ones that broke his heart. Who would have thought it possible, considering how much he had disliked teaching at times? But dunderheaded students were one thing, a dying six-year-old quite another.

Not everyone on his list had recovered. Some were still alive, but wouldn't be for much longer. Severus wondered how Billy determined who to help and who not to. Billy. Severus had always come up with names for his suspects, and Billy seemed appropriate in this situation. He didn't want to think about what he was going to do once he found Billy though. Billy was breaking the law, but when Severus looked into the face of a child whose mother had just been brought back from the edge of death, he was filled with doubts. He knew why the law was there, but he found himself thinking that there had to be a better way of keeping their world a secret while still sharing their gift of magic with the Muggles.

Severus plugged the miniature drive into his laptop and began transferring Friday's scans. He'd been transferring his data at the end of each day, but he'd waited until after he'd completed all his scans to run the program. It would take a while for the analysis on all the patients to complete, so he decided to get some rest. Severus didn't want to take a chance of missing something important because he was too tired to see it as significant.

Eighteen hours later, Severus stared at the computer screen, a sick feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. He was sure there had been a mistake, so he ran his analysis again. And again. And one more time just to be absolutely sure.

The traces were minute, barely detectable. Severus' program was the only way the three ingredients could have been identified without actually drawing blood samples and sending them to St. Mungo's. Even then, he doubted the technicians at St. Mungo's would have found the ingredients if they weren't specifically looking for them.

Gold.

And silver.

And the blood of a wizard.

It was the Water of Life.

His Billy was a Potions Mage.

Scene 2: The Dragon's Roar

Tom would be expecting results from his initial analysis, but Severus could not tell him about this. He had to come up with something else to throw Tom off the track until he could find Billy and determine whether his findings were true. Was Billy a real, live Potions Mage? It seemed impossible, but there was no other potion known to wizarding kind that used gold and silver as a base. The wizarding blood convinced him it was more than just a Muggle New Age attempt at a cure.

Severus decided on reporting Malus sieversii, or wild apple, as the main ingredient. He could then use it as a reason to visit different Apothecaries, checking their inventories for shipments and sales. It was an uncommon ingredient, but not so uncommon that it would take up a lot of his time, looking it up in the shops' records, time which he needed to search for Billy. He had no idea yet how to go about doing that, but he'd work something out; he always did love a challenge.

Severus contacted Tom via owl, then visited the Hall of Records for a list of Apothecaries licensed to import Malus sieversii . There weren't many, so he would start visiting them tomorrow. He needed to try to stretch those visits out as long as possible to give himself time.

This was the last Apothecary on Severus' list. This one was the Dragon's Roar: Rare and Exotic Ingredient Specialist, and was owned by Draco Malfoy. Severus highly doubted he'd run into any problems here with an Apothecary owned by a Board member's son. He also doubted Draco was Billy. Draco had only been mediocre in Potions, and although he'd had respectable grades, he simply did not have the innate desire and power it would take to create the Water of Life. Still, for appearances' sake, he needed to check the shop out.

The day was sunny, with a cool crispness in the air still lingering from the night. Severus arrived just after opening. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible so he would have the afternoon free for more analysis. He wanted to sit at Spinner's End and just think things over, clear his head, and then reexamination the data to see whether there was something he'd missed the first time he'd gone through it.

A small chime rang as he opened the door. Severus walked through to find no one about, so he took the opportunity to look around. Much could be determined about the proprietor of an operation based on its appearance. This one was very neat and organized. Ingredients were shelved alphabetically, with notations underneath of their classifications and potential uses. The more regulated ingredients were locked inside a warded, waist-level glass case. The glass case apparently was where business transactions were conducted, as a book of sales receipts and various quills were meticulously placed next to a small, warded cash box. Overall, it was exactly what he'd expect from the scion of Lucius Malfoy.

An open door behind the case led to a hallway, probably down which the office and stockroom were located. A muffled voice called, "I'll be out in a minute. Just grabbing some items to put out on the shelves."

Severus noticed a branch of Esperanza — naturally blooming off to the side and walked over to examine it further. A plant common in South Texas, it was unusual to see it in stock at this time of year, especially in bloom naturally. To find one blooming indicated rainfall had just occurred, and in July, rainfall in South Texas could be hard to come by. Of course, the plant could be forced to bloom by irrigation techniques, but then it could not be listed as naturally blooming, and was much less useful as a potion ingredient.

"Good morning, sir. What can I help you with today?" a voice asked cheerfully.

Severus knew that voice. Of all the demons in hell, how did Severus stumble onto this one! He should have realized that where Draco Malfoy was, the other was sure to be close by.

Turning about slowly, he schooled his features as he looked into the bright green eyes of Harry Evans.

"Professor Snape!" Harry almost dropped the tray of ingredients when he saw who his customer was. They locked eyes, and Harry was back at Hogwarts, in Snape's room, pinned to the wall as Snape attacked him with his mouth, his hands, but worst of all, with his words.

"Evans. I'm surprised to see you, of all people, here. My information lists this Apothecary as being owned by Draco Malfoy," Snape stated flatly.

It took a second before Harry realized Snape was waiting for a reply. "Um...we're partners. He put in the funding, but we both do the work. I make specialty Potions, take care of the shop and do the bookkeeping. Draco travels to different countries to bring back special order ingredients, like that Esperanza you were admiring."

"I see. Then my business is with you. I'm no longer a professor, so you may call me Mr. Snape now. I've worked in the Auror Department for the last five years, and I'm here to review your inventory records for the Ministry. I have a Special Directive if you'd like to see it. It's for all Apothecaries, not just yours, so don't feel you're being singled out."

Snape walked over to Harry, stepping around the counter until he stood inches away. Harry could feel the warmth radiating off of Snape's body, yet he shivered as Snape's hand brushed against his when Snape held out the Ministry paper.

"It's all right. I don't need to see it. I believe you," Harry whispered. Snape might just as well have hexed him with Petrificus Totalus, as he stood paralyzed by Snape's presence. His heart pounded hard and fast, and Snape couldn't help but hear it. A drop of sweat trickled down his back. Snape stood close, too close, just like those Fridays in detention, those Fridays that hadn't left Harry's dreams in five years.

"Evans, you can relax. I'm on Ministry time. I wouldn't dream of jeopardizing my job by making advances on you. You flatter yourself if you think I would have any interest whatsoever in a repeat of what occurred in my office on your last day at Hogwarts. I have plenty of opportunities for satisfying my sexual appetite with people I'm actually attracted to. I most certainly don't need to satiate it with you. Therefore, stop standing there, trembling as if you expect me to throw you onto that glass case and rape you for all the world to see. I have work to do and would like to get started, so if you don't mind, show me your inventory records so I may begin."

Damn it! Harry was furious, but not with Snape. Snape hadn't changed one bit: still the mean, cruel, and hateful person he'd been back at Hogwarts. No, Harry was furious with himself for allowing Snape to treat him this way. Harry was a twenty-three year old man now, or at least he would be in two more days, running a successful business, yet in a mere few minutes, Snape was able to send him back to being an eleven year old boy on his first day in Potions class! Harry absolutely refused to engage him now. It would only make things worse, and he had no doubt that if things did escalate, Snape wouldn't hesitate to throw him onto that countertop and rape him, Ministry time or not!

Be polite. Be polite. Be polite, Harry kept repeating to himself, before he finally spoke through gritted teeth.

"Yes, sir. Come this way. I have everything here in the back." He turned and shoved past Snape, not looking back to see whether Snape would follow. He walked down a short hallway to his office and cleared off a space at his desk for Snape to work.

"Everything should be in alphabetical order by ingredient, receipts for the most recently purchased at the front of each file," Harry said as he opened and closed drawers in a file cabinet. "I also have it cross-referenced by purchaser over here in these drawers," he added, indicating a different cabinet. "I'm sure you won't have any trouble working it out. I'll be in front, restocking, if you need me for anything."

Snape looked on with cool disdain as Harry showed him how the files were organized. When Harry finished, Snape moved to the desk and began Summoning files from the drawers. He waited until Harry made his way a few steps down the hall, then called back, "Some coffee, Evans. Cream, no sugar."

Harry was sorely tempted to pretend he hadn't heard, but did return and told him, "I don't usually have any coffee. I drink tea." The look in Snape's eyes told him he had just given a wrong answer. With a sigh, Harry mumbled, "Right then. I'll just go and make some coffee."

They had a coffeepot and some coffee grounds; he wasn't sure how old the coffee was, but Snape would just have to make do. There were no filters, so he used a paper towel. He could have transfigured one from a blank order form, but knowing Snape, he'd probably be able to taste the residual magic and make him brew it all over again.

Harry filled two cups with the dark, fragrant liquid, adding cream to one and cream and sugar to the other. He walked back down to the office and met a closed door. He thought about knocking, but decided that since it was his shop, he ought to be able to go wherever he pleased and, with a wandless Alohomora, the door clicked opened.

"Evans, the door was closed. There was a reason for that," Snape stated.

Harry walked over to Snape, his retort lost on the tip of his tongue when he set the coffee cup down to the side of what looked like a laptop computer: a working, operational, unaffected-by-magic laptop computer.

"Is that what I think it is?" Harry asked in awe.

"That depends on what you think it is," Snape replied snidely. "And since Legilimency is a myth and I cannot read your mind, you have to first tell me what you think it is before I can answer you correctly."

"Well, it looks like a Muggle laptop."

"One point to Ravenclaw for stating the obvious."

Harry sighed and took a sip of his coffee, which surprisingly wasn't half bad. Fine, he thought, if this was the way Snape wanted to be, Harry could be the same way, and he sat down in the guest chair across the desk from Snape. If felt strangely reminiscent of his Fridays in the dungeon.

"I didn't think a Muggle computer would work around magic. What did you do, apply some special type of wards or shields around it?" Harry badgered.

Snape didn't move his head, but raised his eyes and peered over the top of the screen at Harry. "You were not meant to see this, Evans. I use this in my work, and it is one of the reasons I am so successful in catching and convicting lawbreakers. If I tell you about it, are you prepared to take a wizard's vow of silence on the matter?"

"Of course. I won't tell anyone. I never told anyone about...."

Harry turned pink in the cheeks. Why was he bringing that up around Snape? Snape had released him from that promise, or at least that's what he'd assumed when Snape had said he never wanted to see him again. Maybe now that Snape was here, he would change his mind. Well, Snape had another thing coming if he thought he could just go back to tormenting and intimidating him like he had back in Hogwarts.

"I never told anyone about what happened in my room at Hogwarts, even after school was over, so you don't have to worry about my telling anyone about your laptop," Harry said boldly. He wasn't afraid to bring the issue up - not too much, anyway.

Snape stared at him a minute, and Harry wasn't sure what he was thinking, but then Snape replied. "I created specialized Shield Charms around the individual components rather than around the entire machine in the way everyone else was doing."

Harry was impressed, and standing up, he came around and stood behind Snape, looking over his shoulder at the screen. "That's brilliant! Why haven't you published your method? You could revolutionize the entire wizarding world with this!"

Snape switched the screen quickly to a list of mundane potion items. The last thing he wanted was for Evans to see that he was comparing blood samples from several wizards he thought might be his Billy.

"Because I am not ready to announce my discovery to the world. I am quite satisfied with the current state of affairs in being the only one to be able to use this type of technology in my job. It gives me an advantage over the criminal element. One day when I retire, I'm sure I will publish my findings."

The bell to the shop chimed, indicating a customer had entered.

"I'll be right out," Harry shouted. "I'll leave you to your work, then," he said to Snape, and left the office to attend to his customer.

"Mr. Malfoy! Good morning. I wasn't expecting you to come by today. Draco isn't back yet; he should be here by noon though. Do you want to wait? I have some coffee made, if you'd like a cup."

"Coffee, Harry? I thought you only drank tea. Yes, a cup of coffee would be nice, and I'm not here to see Draco, I came by to see you. And stop calling me Mr. Malfoy. You make me feel so old when you do that. Please call me Lucius."

"I'm sorry, Lucius. I forget when I'm in the shop; I must fall into customer service mode when I'm here. So what did you want to see me about?" Harry asked as he walked over to the coffeepot to pour a cup for Lucius. He remembered he'd left his own cup on the desk in his office. He glanced down the hall and saw that the door was open, so he didn't think Snape would object to his going and getting it.

Handing Lucius his coffee, Harry went to fetch his own, not realizing Lucius was following him until he heard him say, "Severus. What a pleasant surprise. I certainly wasn't expecting to see you here."

Snape was still at the desk, but the laptop had disappeared and he was writing on a roll of parchment, copying numbers from one of the files piled up on the desk.

Standing, Snape walked over to Lucius and shook his hand. "Lucius, how are you? I'm here doing an inventory on Malus sieversii . Tom mentioned that issue to the Board, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did, but he didn't say who was working the case." Lucius looked pensive. "It's serious then, if you're involved, isn't it?"

Tom and Severus had come up with a cover story of suspicious deaths outside the UK involving a potion made with Malus sieversii seeds, with the other country asking for assistance. The deaths would be difficult to verify, but an international request for help would certainly be reason enough to involve Severus and his skill in Forensics.

"You know I can't go into details." Severus quickly glanced at Harry, who stood there, listening in to their conversation. "But yes, it is quite serious. You don't have to be concerned for Draco though. I've only just begun my review, but Mr. Evans here has the shop's records in perfect order from what I can see so far. But then, when it came to Potions, Mr. Evans always was the best in my class."

A compliment? Harry wished he'd been using a recording spell to capture it! Draco was never going to believe that Snape had given him a compliment. Hell, Draco wasn't going to believe Snape had been here at all!

"Um, thank you sir," he told Snape. "I'm sorry for bothering you. I just came to get my coffee. Lucius and I can go and talk out in the front so you can get back to work."

Lucius turned to Harry and said, "That's all right, Harry. I didn't realize you were busy with Severus. I just wanted to come by and invite you to dinner tonight at the Manor. I know we hadn't planned anything, with Draco expected to be out of town until Sunday, but he owled this morning to say that he was coming back early and asked if you and he could come over."

"Sure, that would be great. I don't have any plans for tonight," Harry replied happily.

"Severus," Lucius began, "why don't you come too. It's been ages since we've got together on anything other than Ministry business."

Oh no, Harry thought, suppressing a groan, please say no, please say no. The last thing Harry wanted was to have to spend his Friday evening with Snape. He'd done that for seven years and that was more than enough for a lifetime.

"Thank you, Lucius, I will. It's been a long week, traipsing around to all these Apothecaries. A visit to the Manor would be nice. It has to be at least...." Snape paused, seeming to try and recall exactly how long, but then just added, "well, awhile."

"About eight then? Will that give you time to complete your work here?" Lucius asked.

"Yes, and if I don't finish, I'll return on Monday. Eight will be fine," Snape replied.

"See you then. Harry, thank you for the coffee. It's very good, considering you aren't a connoisseur," Lucius said, raising his cup in a mock toast.

"All right. I'll see you tonight," Harry said, sounding more cheerful than he really was.

After the bell chimed to indicate that Lucius had left the shop, Harry sat back down in front of Snape. Snape removed a Disillusionment Charm which he'd placed on the laptop and went back to work.

"So what's this case you're working on? Lucius seemed to know something about it. Does it have something to do with the Control Board? The Tom you were talking about is Tom Riddle, right, the chairman?"

Without taking his eyes from the computer display, Snape said, "Evans, I do not have time to sit and chit-chat with you, but yes, Lucius knows what I am looking for and yes, Tom is Tom Riddle."

Slowly sitting back now, Snape looked thoughtfully at Harry. "Is Tom Riddle still a family friend of yours? Do you still associate with him?"

"Yes, I don't get to see him as much as I did when I was young, since we're both working now, but he still comes around for most holidays, and he has a small Quidditch Pitch replica at his home that we make use of. He helped Draco and me get through the paperwork to open the shop last year. Normally it would have taken six months or so to get Board Licensing completed, but he was able to cut that down to two months. We'll be celebrating our one year anniversary of being in business next month."

"So you've been to Little Hangleton, to his mansion? You are special; its location is a closely guarded secret. He has some extremely powerful bewitchments on it to keep it hidden."

"Yeah, when I was a kid, I tried to get him to bewitch my room so my Aunt Petunia wouldn't see my mess. Didn't work though, he just laughed at me, but I still think it was a good idea."

Snape went quiet for a minute, seeming lost in thought. Harry had finished his coffee and needed to continue with restocking. It seemed the right time to leave.

"Well, I'm going back out front," Harry said. Checking Snape's cup and seeing it was empty, he added, "I'll just get you some more coffee first." He didn't want to walk halfway down the hall, only to have Snape call him back for a refill. Snape's lips curled up at the edges, and Harry thought it was a bit of a smile forming.

"You're not so thick after all, Evans," Snape replied.

The last person Severus had ever expected to see again in this lifetime was Harry Evans. He really shouldn't have been surprised, especially when he saw the owner of the Dragon's Roar was Draco Malfoy, but his mind had been on Billy and not on who a mediocre student's friends might have been. He was getting old, he decided. He'd never overlooked an important detail like that before. Not that Harry Evans was important. Severus didn't need to get distracted by Evans when he should be concentrating on the search for Billy. He simply didn't have time to waste on harassing the boy again, although Severus had been taken off guard when Evans brought up the fact that he'd never discussed that anything promise with his friends. Severus had often regretted telling Evans he didn't want to see him again.

Severus had plenty of time before dinner at the Malfoys', so he lingered in the shower, allowing his imagination to wander to some of the classic fantasies he'd had back at Hogwarts, all of which had Evans as the star. There'd been so many illicit and humiliating things he'd wanted to do to Evans, most of them involving a blindfold, a rope, and a wand. But of course, just because he'd had those kinds of desires didn't mean he'd ever act on them. Evans was only a child when he'd been at Hogwarts, although by the time he'd graduated, the boy really wasn't a boy anymore.

Severus moaned, grabbing and massaging his cock, which had become achingly hard at the thought of what the adult Evans would look like, sprawled naked across that glass countertop in the Apothecary, restrained by Incarcerous, whimpering and begging and pleading with Severus to be allowed to come. Evans had certainly improved with age, and Severus could imagine how Evans would writhe and cry out as Severus teased strategic areas of his body. With an unexpected grunt, Severus came, pulsing white thick streams onto the wall of the shower, the water slowly washing it away.

Well, he thought, as he recovered from his orgasm, spending one evening away from his obsession of finding Billy wouldn't hurt anything, and he might even come away with a new perspective on the case. He hadn't been looking forward to a social event like this in a very long time.

Harry Apparated onto the top step of twelve, Grimmauld Place and walked through the front door. He could have Apparated directly inside since Hermione was at work, but that one time he'd appeared in the living room, surprising Draco and Hermione seconds after Draco had removed her bra, taught him that the steps were definitely the safer option. He could have Floo'd, but he hated Floo travel, especially public Floo travel since they didn't have a Floo in the Apothecary. They were concerned the soot might contaminate some of their more sensitive ingredients, so had decided against one. They never Apparated into or out of the shop either, as the surge in magical power associated with Apparition could also react with some of the items. The last thing they needed after all their hard work was to cause a magical chain reaction and blow up their own shop.

Draco's Aunt Bellatrix owned Grimmauld Place, but she said that although she liked her men dark and handsome, she did not like darkness in a house. Grimmauld Place was definitely dark, so Harry, Draco, and Hermione lived there instead. It was a huge house with plenty of room for the three of them. Never once did they consider their arrangement strange; they'd been together since they were eleven years old and couldn't imagine it being any other way.

Harry found Draco lounging on the sofa, flipping through his owl posts that Harry had set aside while he was gone. Draco had been to Australia for three days in search of enchanted Ipomea pes-caprae blooms that were specially ordered last week. A magical cousin of the Muggle plant, beach morning glory, collecting the blooms from the enchanted vine was a time consuming and difficult process. Similar to the Muggle plant, they only bloomed at sunrise, but the magical kind died off as soon as the sun cleared the horizon. The harvester also had to be sure not to step on any of the runners, as they tended to try to wrap around and sting the leg. The sting, although not fatal, could cause painful swelling and hallucinations that lasted for several hours.

"Have you talked to your father since you got home?" Harry asked.

"No, I'll see him at dinner tonight. Why, what's going on?" When Harry didn't say anything more, Draco looked up at him for the first time.

"Bloody Hell, Harry, you look like you've seen a ghost," Draco said worriedly.

Harry sat down in the chair across from Draco, but didn't look directly at him as he spoke.

"I almost feel like I have." He paused, because he didn't want to tell Draco this. Draco would go crazy, he would rant and rave at Harry, telling him he shouldn't be keeping secrets from his best friend, wanting to know, even after all these years, why Harry let Snape harass him. Something in Harry wouldn't let him talk about it, whether it was shame at what he'd promised to do or honor in keeping his word that he wouldn't speak of it, he didn't know.

"There's some kind of investigation going on by the Ministry. They're doing an inventory of ingredients involved in the case, and a worker from the Auror Department came by to audit our inventory records this morning."

"There wasn't anything wrong with our records, was there?" Draco sounded concerned. "You're so meticulous about filing and keeping track of stock and all."

"No, we're fine. The auditor isn't finished though. He's coming back on Monday, but I don't think it should take more than another two or three hours."

"What aren't you telling me, Harry?"

Harry closed his eyes and swallowed hard before blurting out, "The person auditing our records is Snape."

Silence, stone cold silence...then the sound of thunder filled the room.

"Harry! No! What did he do to you? Did he hurt you? Did he touch you? He didn't threaten you or anything, did he? I swear, I'll kill him if he hurts you again. I might have had to watch you being abused at Hogwarts, but I don't have to do it now!"

"Draco, no! Nothing like that happened. He didn't do anything at all. He was very professional. He didn't lay a hand on me, and he wasn't even very mean, not like before. He said a few nasty things, actually said he wasn't attracted to me and I shouldn't worry about him doing anything. Maybe he's mellowing out, or maybe he thought now that I'm older, I'd complain to the Ministry if he tried something while on work time. I had to make him coffee, but that was about as abusive as he got, and if you think about my coffee, he was the one that ended up abused."

Draco was still fuming but couldn't keep from smirking at Harry's little joke. "So why did you ask about my talking to Father?"

"Well, he came by the shop this morning while Snape was there. When he told me about dinner tonight, he ended up inviting Snape too."

"Wonderful," Draco groaned. "So much for a peaceful, quiet dinner. I doubt Snape will be his normal, nasty self around Father though. They were acquaintances at Hogwarts, but I don't think they were very close. I remember him coming to the Manor to comfort Father when Mother died." Draco closed his eyes, thinking back to that awful day. "I think he was the one that confirmed Sectumsempra as the curse used."

Harry gave Draco a respectful moment of silence before speaking again. "We'll make the best of it, be as polite as possible, and then take off to the library to get copies of this week's lists. I'm really curious as to what this case is all about. I tried to get Snape to talk about it, but I should have known I'd be the last person he'd tell. Maybe your father will say something. Snape said Tom had talked to the Board about it. I wonder if we can tell from the lists which case it is Snape's working on."

Draco gave Harry a funny look. "You need to stay away from Snape. He's not good for you. What he did to you at Hogwarts is still affecting you, even now. He kept you from dating back then, but there's no reason that you can't ask someone out now. You won't get a detention if you do, you know. You need to find someone, Harry, even if it's just a one night stand. It's not normal for you to still be a -"

"Stop! Stop it right now!" Harry shouted. "My current sexual status has nothing to do with Snape. I just haven't found anyone I'm interested in, and I'm not the type of person who can just jump into bed with a stranger for a quick fuck. I'm not a whore!"

Draco remained silent. It had been a while since they'd had this argument. Draco and Hermione had tried all throughout their years at Durmstrang to get Harry to date, but Harry had always given the excuse that he was too busy with studying and doing homework. Once they'd opened the shop, the excuse was that he was too busy with getting everything set up and in order. So at almost twenty-three years old, Harry was still a virgin, and Harry knew that in Draco's opinion, it was all Snape's fault.

Standing up, Harry said quietly, "I'm going upstairs to soak in the tub a while." And he left the room.

One of Harry's favorite things to do at the end of the day, and especially on Fridays, was to sit back in a tub filled to the top with warm water, made silky and fragrant by his special mix of bath oil, and soak for an hour. He'd used verbena, vanilla, and musk in the base, and simply inhaling the spicy fragrance was enough to make him drift off in peaceful bliss.

Harry hated arguing with Draco, because he knew Draco was right. What had gone on with Snape at Hogwarts was still affecting him now. He did want someone in his life, as a friend, as a partner, and as a lover, but anytime he started thinking of doing something about it, his thoughts drifted back to Snape: to thoughts of Snape's hands and how they made the inside of Harry burn whenever Snape touched him; thoughts of Snape's body pressing up against his back; thoughts of Snape's weight holding him pinned against the wall; thoughts of Snape's mouth on him, biting his neck....

Harry moved his hand around his hardening cock and moaned softly, thinking of that horrible, wonderful day at Hogwarts. Ever since then, he'd never been able to think of sex without thinking of Snape. They were one and the same in Harry's mind, and the fantasies he created around the man would've made even the devil blush in shame.

The things he imagined Snape doing to him were depraved and humiliating and made Harry so hard with need it was painful. His favorite involved being naked and spread out on Snapes' desk, his wrists and ankles bound tightly to the four corners. Snape would have Dieffenbachiam juice in a vial, letting little drops of it fall onto Harry's nipples, just enough to sting but not enough to blister. And Snape would smear that cool salve over the red, swollen nubs, causing them to peak up as Snape's fingers pulled and pinched. But instead of the paste having the normal numbing effect, it would make his nipples more sensitive, intensifying rather than soothing the pain. Snape would untie Harry's ankles and push his feet up onto the desk, scoop out a finger full of salve, and press the finger harshly into Harry's entrance. It would sting too, and then Snape would put a second finger inside him with more of the salve, followed quickly by a third, stretching and twisting in and out of his sensitive arse. Snape would dip the fingers of his other hand in the salve and wrap them around Harry's hard cock. Harry would scream as it burned him and then come in painful spurts of white-hot fire onto his stomach and into Snape's hand.

With a groan, Harry was coming now as he sat in the bath, his leg lifted up to rest on the side of the tub, fingering himself at the same time he'd been fantasizing of Snape. With a sigh of contentment, he wondered about Snape's sudden appearance in his life today, and what, if anything, he should do about it. He couldn't go on like this, his only sexual release being his fantasies of Snape. If he could get Snape out of his system, let Snape take his virginity like the man had always wanted, maybe Harry could finally move on with his life. The only problem was, Snape had made it clear that he was not attracted to him, and Harry was sure that Snape wanting his virginity had nothing to do with sex; rather, he had made Harry promise it to him as a means of revenge, because Snape knew it would be something special to Harry that Snape could take away.

Getting up out of the cooling water and toweling himself dry, Harry decided that for now, he'd just let things take their own course. Spending an evening being able to watch his obsession from afar wouldn't hurt anything.

"Hermione says hello, Father, and that she's sorry she couldn't make it. She took the second shift tonight so she could go in late on Monday morning. We don't know yet where we're going to celebrate Harry's birthday; he's going to his aunt and uncle's during the day, but I'm sure our celebration will involve some drinking and dancing later in the evening. The advantage Harry and I have of owning our own business is that we only have ourselves to answer to if we come in late. Hermione could always get away with it if she chose to, but she's too responsible to do something like that."

"She's a very dedicated worker," Lucius replied. "I'm surprised you two even have the time to see each other, but her job is important. I wish we had more talented witches like her. Not many would have the ability to cast the required charms to Confound the Muggles into thinking she belongs there."

"She's equally impressed by you, Father. Not many would have continued doing what you do on the Board after Mother's death, helping Muggles like you still do."

"When you two have children of your own, you'll find that nothing can compare to the pain parents go through when they lose a child. Peter Pettigrew acted out of grief; he wasn't in his right mind. I don't hold him responsible, not really. If he'd taken his daughter to St. Mungo's instead of going to a Muggle hospital, the case wouldn't even have come before the Board. She would have automatically received any potions we had available. But he'd gone into hiding after he killed all those Muggles while trying to escape the Aurors and was afraid of being caught."

Harry, Draco, and Lucius were talking while they poured themselves drinks at the bar. Bellatrix and Snape had arrived at the same time and were walking in together, so Lucius went to greet them.

"It doesn't feel so good to lose a parent either, does it?" Harry whispered, and gave his friend's hand a quick squeeze.

"Draco, Harry, how wonderful to see you. You're both looking well." Bellatrix walked gracefully over to them, giving Draco a motherly hug.

"Hi, Aunt Bella, I've missed you. You've been keeping yourself occupied, I hear." Draco smirked at her, referring to her many infamous affairs.

"Well, it's only because Harry here refuses to settle down with me and I have to keep searching for the perfect man," she added, giving Harry a kiss on the cheek.

Lucius and Snape walked back to the bar, where Lucius handed a drink to Bellatrix first and then to Severus.

"So, Bella," Lucius began, "this has been a pretty rough week for the Board, don't you think?"

"Yes, I hate the cases involving children, especially ones where we have potions that could help, but they just happen to be sick during the week that we've already approved all our cases and don't have the leeway to approve more."

"So, there is some limit that you have to adhere to," Snape stated.

"Yes, the Ministry sets the limits," Lucius explained. "But I've always argued they're much too low. If we were allowed to slowly build up the numbers over time, I don't believe the Muggles would become suspicious."

"It would help if we could count the hopeless cases in the total, but they have a classification all their own," Bellatrix added, and continued. "The only potions we can approve for them are those for pain relief, usually Dreamless Sleep. But those are the ones that get to me, Lucius," Bella stated. "That teenage girl with leukemia was such a pretty thing."

"Megan. Her name was Megan Ryan. At lease she was able to experience nineteen years of life. Alex Johnson, that four-year-old from a few weeks ago has to be the saddest case I've ever reviewed." Turning to Severus, Draco, and Harry, Lucius explained. "The parents had been told they couldn't have children, so they gave up trying. Then, five years later, the wife became pregnant and had a beautiful baby boy, Alex. To have that ripped away...." Lucius couldn't speak; he could only look at Draco with a sad smile.

"How many cases do you get in a week that you aren't able to help?" Severus asked.

"I couldn't even say how many. Too many. I stopped trying to keep count long ago. But I don't ever want to forget that these are more than just names written on a piece of paper. These are human beings, with mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. Some wizards might argue they're only Muggles, but that should mean we give them more help, not less. Muggles have come up with some incredible inventions to make up for their lack of magic. And they have made great progress over the years in treating their illnesses themselves. Imagine if we pooled resources, combined our magic with their ingenuity, what we might accomplish? Some of these diseases are fatal to wizards also, like cancer. But we'll never know what our joint efforts might produce, will we?" Lucius said in a disgusted tone. "The Ministry will never get over their paranoia of being discovered. The laws will only change if the effort comes from ordinary wizards.

"I've never thought much about it until now, listening to you talk. But how does the Board receive requests for assistance?" Severus wanted to know. "It's not like the families of patients come before the Board."

"No, no Muggles before the Board. It's changed over the years, but basically we have wizards with forged Muggle documents, allowing them to appear as medical professionals, either as doctors or nurses, sometimes lab technicians. Most of these wizards are also Healers, and many worked at St. Mungo's before entering the Muggle world. These wizards submit the cases to the Board. If assistance is approved, then the potions are sent to the wizard, who transfigures them into mundane fluids, like juice and water, and administers them to their patients."

Just then Dobby popped into the room, announcing dinner was served.

The conversation at dinner had turned to more pleasant things. Draco talked about his recent trip to Australia, Bellatrix about her latest flirtation with a Muggle artist, and Lucius spoke about his work at Hogwarts, setting up special classes for Squibs and Muggle relatives of wizarding students so they wouldn't have to be separated from each other the way Harry's mum and aunt had been.

Harry and Severus remained attentive to the others' conversation, not speaking much, and taking turns glancing at each other throughout dinner. Draco watched them both closely; Severus was seated next to Bellatrix, across from Draco and Harry, and never once during the evening did Severus get close enough to Harry to lay so much as a finger on him. Draco finally relaxed when dinner was over, and he and Harry went to the library to play their customary chess game, leaving Lucius, Bellatrix and Severus to continue their conversation in the sitting room.

They were partially through their second game when Draco got up to look out the door, checking to be sure that no one was coming down the hall. Harry went over to Lucius' secretary, hurriedly located the lists of names the Board had reviewed that past week and with a quick copy spell, duplicated the lists in a book of blank parchment charmed to look like a potions reference book. Shrinking the book and sticking it in his pocket, Draco and he returned to the chessboard where they finished their game.

On Monday, before Severus returned to the Dragon's Roar, he decided to stop at the hospital and check out the list of names he'd received from Tom last week. He owled Evans to say that he'd be coming to the shop in the afternoon rather than the morning as originally planned, then Apparated to the secluded car park in the back of the hospital that he'd scouted out on his first trip there. Scanning the patients didn't take long since most of them were in the same ward; he'd have to review his data again to be sure, but it seemed the majority of the patients that Billy helped were in the cancer ward.

Severus always liked to think he was successful in solving his cases because of his intelligence and innate talent at being able to work things out, but he wasn't so prideful that he'd take a chance on angering the deities by not giving them credit when credit was due. Dumb luck had helped him out more times than he wanted to think about, and today, the sheerest of dumb luck Apparated almost straight into his lap.

As Severus made his way back to the car park to Disapparate to the Dragon's Roar, he heard the unmistakable crack of someone's Apparition into the car park. The hospital complex was not one frequented by wizards and he wondered who it could possibly be. Not wanting to be seen, he quickly hid behind a parked car and watched to see who it was.

It was a woman dressed in what appeared to be a Muggle nurse's uniform. She moved so quickly that Severus didn't have time to glimpse her face, so he decided to follow from a safe distance. He ended up back at the hospital, in the lobby. He could see the woman waiting at the lifts, but she still had not turned so that Severus could see her clearly. He quickly walked over to the receptionist and gave her the most manipulatively sensual smile he could manage. "Excuse me," he said silkily, "but I thought I recognized a student from my computer class. I don't want to look foolish and just walk up to a stranger if it's not she. Can you tell me whether that nurse standing there," and he pointed to the woman he'd been following, "is Miss Pansy Parkinson?"

The receptionist had to lean over her desk a bit, and at the same exact moment, the nurse turned and looked over to the side so that her profile was clearly visible. "I'm sorry, sir, that nurse is Helen Gaffney. She works in the cancer ward," the receptionist replied.

"Thank you. You saved me from embarrassing myself," he told her quickly, and left.

Walking slowly back to the car park, Severus thought about the information the gods had just provided him. Nurse Helen Gaffney. Funny how so many people who changed their names had a tendency to keep their initials.

He wondered if Hermione Granger had even realized she'd done it.

Scene 3: The Ritual of the Sun and the Moon

Severus arrived at the Dragon's Roar right after lunch. Evans was in the office with the younger Malfoy. So, Evans had his defender of virtue present to protect him.

"I shouldn't be long," Severus told them. "You have excellent records, and if you weren't so successful and had so many sales receipts for me to review, I would have been finished on Friday."

"We've finished eating," Harry said, "so you can have the desk again. We'll be in the shop if you have any questions."

Severus surreptitiously initiated a scan of them both as he spoke with them, but when he loaded it with the morning's data from the hospital, he found that he hadn't had enough time to obtain anything useful other than the fact that their blood was wizarding blood. It usually took several minutes of focused concentration on his part to conduct a thorough scan, and he didn't think he could do so without raising their suspicions.

There were other things Severus could do though, before he left them for the day. A useful spell he'd come up with but rarely needed in his line of work, since dead people didn't move about, was a spell which imitated the Global Positioning System circuitry in a Muggle mobile phone. He thought the GPS functionality might be useful in his laptop in case it was stolen, so he created a spell to copy the GPS logic of the phone and wove it into one of the shields on his laptop. Out of sheer curiosity, Severus had tried to cast the spell on a passing wizard, and to his amazement, it worked. He could pick up the signal on his laptop and track the location changes of the wizard as the wizard traveled around the city.

It took only a few seconds to cast two GPS charms on Harry and Draco; Severus did it when he went out to ask for some coffee, which Evans already had brewed. Returning to the office with his cup - Evans had even added the correct amount of cream, no sugar - Severus called up his tracking program on the laptop and verified it correctly showed Malfoy's and Evans' present location: the Dragon's Roar.

After Severus had finished his pseudo review of the sales receipts, he Apparated to Spinner's End and settled in for a long wait. He hadn't told Tom specifically what he was doing, since he hadn't told Tom about his belief that their culprit was a Potions Mage. Instead, he told Tom he had a lead and would be incommunicado for the rest of the week.

Severus had no idea who, of the three suspects, could be Billy. He thought that the odds were low that it was Malfoy, but then that could be the exact reason why it was Malfoy: because he seemed to be the one least likely to perform the Ritual of the Sun and the Moon. Granger had the knowledge, but being a Muggle-born, she seemed even less likely than Malfoy.

That left Evans. He certainly had the power, and he certainly had the wizarding heritage via Lily's bloodline, but with no living relative to teach him the Ritual, how would he have known it? Petunia was a Squib, so she wouldn't have been able to show him. It didn't make sense.

But Granger had to be the one distributing the potion to the sick. He had a gut feeling, and he'd learned by now to not ignore that feeling when he got it. That she was Malfoy's fiancé and Evans' best friend led him to deduce that one of those two was Billy.

Severus came to the conclusion that Evans led an extremely boring life. Malfoy's wasn't much better, but at least he had Granger to keep him occupied. The only places the two men went were to the Apothecary, then back to Grimmauld Place. Grimmauld Place was Black family property, and Severus assumed the two men must be renting it from Draco's Aunt Bellatrix.

After three days of their doing nothing but going back and forth between the two places, Severus set up a notification in his tracking program to beep if they left either place for more than five minutes, and settled down to finish reading Billy Budd.

Friday night found Severus engrossed in his new book, the Lee Fahnestock/Norman MacAfee translation of Les Miserables, when he was startled by the sound of short staccato beeps coming from the laptop, indicating Malfoy or Evans was going somewhere other than their normal places. Calling up the display, Severus could see Malfoy had Apparated to a place in Muggle London. Evans was still at home, so Severus concentrated on watching Malfoy's movements.

Malfoy went for several blocks before stopping in an area that Severus thought was industrial. He waited and watched Malfoy for another ten minutes, and when Malfoy didn't leave his location, Severus set his notification on Malfoy's current position and went back to his reading. Severus managed to get through two pages when the staccato beeping started again, and he saw that Evans had Apparated to the same location used earlier by Malfoy. Checking that Malfoy hadn't moved, Severus concluded Evans was going to meet him.

Severus Apparated to the same point used by Malfoy and Evans, which turned out to be a very dark and deserted alley behind a boarded-up restaurant. Walking down the alley to the main street, he looked around and spotted Evans heading towards an area of abandoned warehouses. The streets were deserted, except for the sounds of unseen creatures scurrying about in the shadows. It was a perfect place in which to perform the Ritual, if that's what they were going to do.

Severus lost sight of Evans for a minute, but when he concentrated, he could feel the slight pulse of magic coming from a few doors down. If he hadn't been specifically looking for Evans, he would never have detected it. Testing the door, he felt the tingle from a weak locking ward that would have deterred any Muggles attempting to enter, but which a seventh year Hogwarts' student could have easily broken through. It certainly wouldn't keep an adult wizard out. Casting a Silencing Charm on himself that he'd perfected during his time as a professor, he made his way toward the solitary glow of light coming from the end of the short hallway.

Severus found himself in a cavernous open space, lit only by a bluish glow emanating from a large cauldron on a table in the center of the room. There were large packing crates and boxes all along the one side of the wall, and he was able to keep hidden behind them as he worked his way closer to the lighted area for a better view. He didn't see Evans at first because the room was so dark, but once his eyes adjusted to the low light, Severus could see him about twenty feet away. Evans stood directly in front of the cauldron, wearing only his jeans, his torso shiny with sweat. His eyes were closed, his head tipped slightly back, and his arms hung loosely at his side.

At first Severus thought the glow from the cauldron was reflected onto Evans, but he soon realized it was Evans himself who was slightly luminescent.

Then he heard it — a sound: a soft-pitched, musical note began to fill the room.

As the note continued to hold, male and female voices, low and slow, began to hum in the background. A flute began to play, pitched higher and slightly louder than the rest. Then a harp, joined by a solo woman's voice, humming.

Where was it coming from? It seemed to be everywhere, yet Severus saw no one but Evans.

Strings...

A flute...

Violins...

Now he noticed Evans' hands. Severus had been so enamored by the music and the light, he hadn't noticed Evans had moved his hands out in front of him. It looked as if Evans were conducting to thin air, making the music sound out of nowhere and bending it to his will. Severus couldn't tell whether the music was controlling Evans or whether Evans was controlling the music; they seemed to be one and the same.

Drums began to throb, making the air vibrate. The melody rose in pitch, the harmony taking on a faster pace. Evans' hands continued to move in fluid, dance-like motions, rising up higher and higher.

As the music became faster, the light on one side of the room intensified. The other half of the room remained dark. It appeared as if a line had been drawn down the middle of the room, dividing it into day and night.

Evans' arms reached out towards each side of the room. Two glowing orbs appeared: one bright yellow on the left in the light and the other, a pale white illuminating the dark. The orbs began to move towards each other from each side of the room, guided by Evans as he brought his hands together.

They met in the center in a blinding flash of light, which cascaded and raced around the room. The light invaded every molecule, sparkling and separating into individual pieces that should have been too small to be seen. Each piece was a living, breathing being. They were changing their order and pattern, becoming something new and wonderful, shining and sparkling and touching Evans as he reached out and touched them back. The room was filled with sunlight, moonlight and brilliant twinkling stars, thousands of stars everywhere. They moved in time to the music, rising higher and higher, faster and faster, pulsing, throbbing, and aching with need.

Then there was the sound of an explosion, and a stream of tiny gold and silver beings swirled like a tornado around Evans' body, flowing down his arms, through his fingers and into the cauldron.

Severus continued to watch as Evans picked up his wand and, casting Sectumsempra, carefully made an incision on the inside of his left wrist. Holding his cut wrist over the cauldron, Evans let several drops of blood drip into the glowing liquid, extinguishing the light.

Severus was shaking, overcome by the sound and the beauty of the Ritual he'd just witnessed and inadvertently been a part of. Even from his hidden position, he'd been close enough to feel the effects of it. He'd never thought he'd actually see a Potions Mage perform it. It was as if he had just had one of the most intense orgasms of his life. He'd forgotten what it was like, this sense of love and utter peacefulness. When he'd lost Lily he'd thought he'd never experience that feeling again.

Several small lights were switched on over the table as someone said, "Harry, sit down before you fall down. I'll get your potion."

Hermione Granger. Severus hadn't noticed her before, and now he saw Malfoy too, standing at the table and filling smaller bottles with the contents of the cauldron.

"Are you going to stay here a while to rest? Do you want us to stay with you when we finish this?" Malfoy asked. Both he and Granger looked flushed and spoke a bit breathlessly; apparently Severus wasn't the only one affected by the sensuality of the Ritual.

Severus watched as a table lamp was turned on, and Evans flopped down on a sofa next to it. Granger returned with a small green bottle of potion, handing it to Evans, who immediately drank it all down. She sat in a chair next to Evans and gave him a shirt, which he put on but didn't bother to button. Evans looked exhausted.

"Yes, I think I'm just going to relax here and read a little, then I'll head back home. If I tried to Apparate right now, I know I'd splinch myself. You two go on. You should have at least two hours of privacy," Evans said, grinning at them cheekily.

Malfoy began carrying the filled bottles to a storage cabinet against the wall, and Granger rose from the chair to help.

"I hate leaving you alone here, Harry," she said.

"I'm a big boy, Hermione. I can handle myself," he told her.

"That's not what I meant by being alone. I'm not worried about your safety, I'm worried about your being alone, as in I have Draco and you have...." She let the rest of her words remain unspoken.

"Oh, that kind of alone." Evans sighed. "I just haven't found the right man yet, Hermione. You took my one and only love from me," he said, laughing, as Malfoy hit him playfully on the head. They'd finished storing the bottles and had both walked back to Evans.

"All right then, we're off. See you in a few hours. Don't fall asleep. Do you have your coin?" Malfoy asked.

Evans reached inside the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a gold coin and held it up for Malfoy to inspect.

"Good, then," Malfoy continued. "If you aren't home in exactly two hours, I'm going to activate that coin and it's going to Portkey you back to Grimmauld Place, understand? And I know how much you hate to travel by Portkey, especially that one."

"Yeah, okay. You're never going to let me forget that one time, are you?" Evans asked.

"Harry, you had us worried sick when we woke up and you weren't back. I know you just fell asleep here, but it could have been something bad. You may not always be able to hold it in your hand if you're hurt. I'm actually quite proud that I was able to get it to work without requiring you to touch it. As long as you're touching something the coin is touching, you'll be Portkeyed right to us," Hermione said with a smile.

"Okay, okay. I promise to be home in two hours, Mum," Harry replied, holding up his hands in a mock sign of surrender.

"Night, Harry."

It was only a minute or so before Severus heard the door of the warehouse open and slam shut, indicating they were gone. He waited another five minutes to be sure they wouldn't be back, and made his way quietly to where Evans was lying down on the sofa with his eyes closed. Severus doubted Evans was asleep already, and faltered for a second as he tried to decide the best way to make his presence known.

"Evans."

Harry heard his name. It was said quietly, but sounded like it had been shouted as it echoed throughout the stillness of the warehouse.

Harry quickly sat up and went for his wand, but was stopped when someone grabbed his wrists and pushed him back down. The touch made Harry gasp and he found himself staring incredulously into the face of Severus Snape. The fire he remembered from so long ago, from Snape's hands back in Hogwarts, burned through him, but this time it was much more powerful than it had been back then.

Harry was speechless as he looked up at the man pinning him to the sofa. "What are you doing here?" he managed to croak out.

"The auditing of inventory records was a cover for what I've really been doing. I've been conducting an investigation into who has been distributing potions illegally to Muggles."

Shit, Harry thought, his mouth going dry. He'd expected to be caught eventually, but not so soon, and certainly not by Snape. "How much did you see?" he asked, unable to hide the alarm in his voice.

"Everything. From the very beginning. I followed you here," Snape stated.

"Oh gods," Harry whispered.

He remembered another time with Snape, when Snape had caught him in a lie. Back then he'd never known how Snape had worked out that he'd brought his mum's Advanced Potion-Making book to Hogwarts, and he had absolutely no idea how Snape could have followed him here today.

"What are you going to do now? Take me to Tom? That is who you're working for, right, or was that a cover too?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I am investigating this for Tom. And I don't know what I'm going to do yet," Snape told him.

Severus realized as he said it, that it was completely true. He really didn't know what he was going to do. He knew what he should do: turn Evans, Malfoy, and Granger over to Tom. But he also knew that if he did, the three of them would go to Azkaban. He doubted there'd even be a trial. The Minister for Magic wouldn't want to have it publicized, and in cases deemed a matter of Wizarding Security, it was within the Minister's power to send the accused to Azkaban with only a minimal review by the Wizengamot. The names of the accused would be blackened out in the records and the assembly would be closed to public viewing. No one but the Minister and the few select officials involved would even know who the accused were.

As Severus looked down at Evans, it occurred to him that he had his own selfish reason for not wanting to turn him over to the authorities. This was an opportunity he couldn't pass up, an opportunity to live out the fantasies he wouldn't act upon at Hogwarts with a child; but now that Evans was an adult, he felt no such restraint.

His decision made, Severus told Evans, "I should turn you in, all three of you, but I'm not sure exactly how that would benefit me."

Giving Evans a calculated look, Severus released his wrists and tenderly cupped Evans' face with both hands. "You once made me an offer in order to keep a mere book. At that time, you were too young to give me what I wanted. But you are no longer that child, Evans. What are you willing to offer me now in order to keep you and your friends out of Azkaban?"

Evans nervously licked his lower lip and paused, then with a defiant lift of his chin, looked Severus straight in the eye and replied, "Anything. I'll do anything you want."

Scene 4: Spinner's End

Harry had been putting it off all day, but he could no longer procrastinate. He couldn't tell Draco why he was going to Spinner's End with Snape, but there was no way he could hide the fact that he was going.

"Um, Draco." Harry really dreaded having to do this. It had been bad enough when he'd had to tell Draco about Snape's auditing their records. It would be ten times worse to have to tell Draco he was spending the night at Spinner's End.

Draco was sitting at the desk in their office, sorting through some owl orders for special ingredients that had come in during the week. He had placed them into three piles: impossible, difficult, and fun.

The impossible pile were orders that simply could not be filled, usually because the time of year was wrong for harvesting whatever ingredient it was the buyer wanted. Sometimes the request was for an ingredient that was either illegal to bring into the country or was an endangered species. These items were actually obtainable, but Draco always moved them to impossible because they refused to take those types of orders.

The difficult pile were orders for ingredients that were obtainable, but for one reason or another, weren't easy to come by. They'd once had an order for a piece of serpent eggshell from a newly hatched Quetzalcoatl. It had taken Draco two weeks before he'd been able to locate a nesting Quetzalcoatl, then another ten days of waiting for the egg to hatch. It hadn't been so much the time involved, as it had been the location of the nest along the edge of a cliff, two thousand and five hundred feet above the rocky ground. The constantly blowing winds of fifty miles per hour hadn't done much to make Draco feel secure in his location either.

The fun pile were orders that took Draco to places he'd either never been to before and wanted to see, or to places he'd enjoyed and wanted to return to again. That pile was usually the largest, simply because Draco enjoyed traveling and even the most difficult of his orders could be fun if they took him to an exotic locale that was new and exciting.

"Look at this one," Draco said, holding up an order for Harry to see. "I think I'll do this one next week. It's for key limes, and they only want them from the Florida Keys. I was going to go there in May for mangrove leaves, but that order was canceled. This is great! Now I'll get to go and take a side trip to Disney World." Draco went back to thumbing through the orders.

"Draco!" Harry tried again, but in his nervousness it came out louder than he meant.

Startled by Harry's tone, Draco jerked his head up from the orders. "Sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to get so engrossed in this. What's the matter?"

"Um," Harry stumbled, "I wanted to let you know, so you wouldn't worry, but I'm not coming home tonight."

"Oh, okay. Are you staying with your aunt or with Tom?" Draco asked.

Damn, this was more difficult than Harry had expected it to be. "Um, neither," he said. "Snape is coming to the shop at closing time and he's taking me to his home in Spinner's End. He's invited me for dinner and I've accepted." The lie made things sound better, making it more like a date than a blackmail fuck.

Papers flew into the air as Draco angrily swept his sorted piles of orders off the desk, shouting, "Are you insane? Why would you do something like that? No, Harry. Just, no. I won't allow it. That man is bad news. Damn it! As soon as you told me he was the one auditing our records, I should have contacted the Ministry and asked them to send someone else. Why didn't I see this coming? This is all my fault! You said he wasn't attracted to you. What the hell changed in a week to make him ask you to dinner at his home now, huh? He's manipulating you, Harry, and he's going to get you alone in his house and it will be like it was at Hogwarts. Only worse, because now there won't be anyone there to help you when you need it."

Harry sat in the chair across the desk from Draco and waited for Draco to finish his rant. Harry did his best to ignore the hostility radiating from Draco in waves. He knew Draco was only acting like this because he was worried. "Draco, look." Harry tried to keep his voice calm. It wasn't easy because some of the concerns Draco'd enumerated were the same ones which were on Harry's mind too. He didn't want to acknowledge the butterflies in his stomach whenever his mind wandered to all the things that could possibly happen once he was alone at Spinner's End, especially since he wasn't sure whether the source of his unease was fear — or excitement.

"Draco," Harry tried again, "it will be all right. Snape works for the Ministry now, in the Auror Division, so they had to have done a background check. They would never have hired him if he'd had any skeletons in the closet."

"They can't find skeletons if no one reports them. You would never go to the Headmaster and tell him what Snape was doing to you. What makes you think there weren't others, just like you, that he hurt and abused and who wouldn't report it either?"

"I didn't report anything because there wasn't anything to report! I keep telling you that. And he didn't hurt anyone else because it was only me that he had reason to hate!" Harry was frustrated at having to go over this again.

"So, he did hurt you back then," Draco said, sadness in his voice that his accusation finally had been validated.

"Yes. No! I mean," Harry stuttered, not knowing how he'd been trapped into admitting that. With a sigh, he said, "It doesn't matter now. I just wanted to tell you where I'd be tonight and that I'm not coming home. You were the one who said it wasn't normal for me still to be a virgin. Well after tonight, I won't be."

Draco jumped up and came around the desk, leaning his hands onto the arms of Harry's chair, his face inches away from Harry's. "I didn't mean for you to lose your virginity to Snape and you know it!" he said, his anger back in full force.

Harry became just as angry. He was tired of Draco always treating him like a child. Most times he appreciated the care, but other times, like this, it interfered with what he had to do. "It doesn't matter what you want. I'm a grown man; I can take care of myself. He's coming to the shop at closing time and I'm going with him. I'll be back tomorrow night. If I'm not, then you can call in the Search Aurors. Draco, please, let's not fight about this."

"Damn it, Harry," Draco said, exasperated but no longer as livid as before. "If you're doing this just to lose your virginity, then let me be your first. Hermione wouldn't mind. She's as concerned about this thing with Snape as I am. I don't even know how I'm going to tell her about this. She's going to hex me for not tying you to the chair to keep you from going."

Harry smiled a little then, thinking about Draco's offer. It was a running joke with the three of them that Harry was in love with Draco, and Hermione had stolen him away and that was the reason that Harry never dated.

"Hermione would never allow you to touch me, and you know she's been the only one for you ever since that first day you saw her on the Hogwarts Express. I can still remember catching you in our room, practicing those contraceptive charms later that night."

Even after all these years, Draco still turned pink when he thought of that day. "I'll have you know, Hermione would not only allow me to touch you, but she thinks watching the two of us together would be totally hot."

"Oh my gods, and I thought I was the one with perverted fantasies." But Harry couldn't deny that the thought of sex with Draco was a turn-on as his jeans began to get uncomfortably tight.

Then they were both laughing, the tension between them gone, but not the worry.

It was fifteen minutes to closing time when Harry told Draco, "I don't think you should be here when Snape arrives. I can take care of closing the shop and setting the wards to alarm."

Draco glared but didn't protest. "Do you have your coin?" he asked.

Harry reached in his pocket and felt to be sure the coin was there before answering. "Yes, I have it. Promise me you won't activate it though. If you need me, send an owl."

"Fine," Draco said tersely. "Just promise me you'll activate it if you find you've gotten in over your head with him. Please?"

Draco had a look of pain in his eyes that almost made Harry give in and say he wouldn't go after all.

But Harry knew he had to go; he had to protect his friends. And as much as he didn't like to admit it, Harry wanted to go with Snape tonight. "I promise I'll use it if I need to," Harry confirmed.

Draco walked over to Harry and gave his arm a squeeze, saying, "Be careful," then hurriedly left the shop. Harry was relieved that Draco hadn't given him any more arguments, and that he hadn't tied him to that chair either.

Snape showed up precisely at closing time. "You've not changed your mind, have you, Evans?" he asked. "I want it clear that this is your choice. I am not forcing you to do anything against your will."

With a snort, Harry said, "It all depends on how you define the word 'force', doesn't it? You might not be physically forcing me to come with you, but the result is the same. You know I don't want Hermione or Draco to get into any trouble for this. Nothing's changed, has it? You couldn't fail me in class, so you gave my friends detention to get back at me. Now the stakes are higher. They'd be sent to Azkaban, and you know I'd do anything to keep that from happening."

"All the same, Evans. You do have a choice," Snape insisted.

"Fine then, I choose to go with you," he answered sarcastically.

Harry knew it would be better to give in and not fight the man, but it went against his nature to do so, though when Snape wrapped his arm around Harry's waist to Side-Along Apparate them, he was surprised at the rush of blood that flowed to his groin at Snape's touch.

They appeared inside Snape's house, directly in the sitting room. It was small and lit by the glow from the fireplace. Several candles were set about the room, providing additional light and fragrance. There was a chair and sofa, and between them was a small table with a lamp and book on it. A soft, thick rug covered most of the hardwood floor. The place had a warm and cozy feel about it, and under a different set of circumstances, Harry would have described the atmosphere as romantic.

Snape made his way to sit in the chair and indicated Harry should follow. Harry didn't know what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't what Snape did next.

"Stand in front of me, undress, and hand me your clothes," Snape commanded.

Harry stared at him. "Wha...what did you say?" he stammered.

"I'm sure you heard me, Evans. I hope you don't plan to renege on our agreement already?" Snape asked, a note of amusement in his voice.

"No, I'm not. It's just...I...." Oh gods! "I can't," he croaked out.

"Evans," Snape began. "I will say this only once. If you do not wish Malfoy and Granger to join you in Azkaban, then you will do everything I tell you, without complaint or hesitation. The moment you refuse to follow a command, I will turn you over to Tom Riddle immediately. Is this clear?"

Harry could feel his eyes beginning to water. He had never felt so helpless before in all his life. He had thought he would be all right with this, thought that this was what he wanted, what he'd fantasized about. But in his fantasies, even when Snape was in control, he was only doing the things that Harry wanted him to do. The reality of Snape being in control was much different. The real Snape, the one sitting right in front of him, scared him. The real Snape was the one he'd known at Hogwarts. Sex for this Snape didn't have anything to do with pleasure; this Snape would hurt him and humiliate him and not care one bit about what Harry wanted.

"Evans! Is this clear?" Snape hissed.

"Yes, sir. Please...I'm trying. Just give me a moment." Harry blinked back the tears, and with a lump in his throat, began to unbutton his shirt. His fingers did not want to obey, and the buttons gave him trouble. He managed to get them undone, and with shaking hands, slipped the shirt off his arms and held it out to Snape. Snape took and neatly folded it, placing it on the floor next to the chair.

Even though the room was warm, Harry shivered as the air moved over his bare skin. He toed off his trainers, then removed his socks and placed them inside his shoes. Next was the belt, and finally, he pulled down the zip on his jeans, but paused as he hooked his thumbs in the waistband.

Snape raised an eyebrow and frowned, as if to say get on with it. Heart pounding, heat rising in his face, Harry closed his eyes and in one move, pushed his jeans and pants down together at the same time. Stepping out of his clothes, he handed them over to Snape and stood back, arms at his side. As hard as he tried to suppress it, a stray tear still managed to escape from one of his eyes, making its way slowly down the side of his face. It wasn't so much being naked in front of Snape that hurt; it was the feeling of exposure to an enemy, of being powerless to defend himself against whatever Snape decided to do to him.

And Harry knew that it wouldn't end with tonight, either. Snape had never stipulated how long their bargain was for. Until Snape tired of playing with him? Until Snape no longer received any pleasure from debasing him? If anything, Harry was only postponing the time until Snape would finally turn them all in. Hopefully Draco and Hermione could leave England before that happened.

Harry had been so deep in his thoughts that he was startled when Snape rose out of the chair and walked around him, moving like a sleek, black panther ready to devour his prey. Snape stopped behind him, and pulling Harry's arms back, quickly bound his wrists together with a length of rope.

Harry's breathing started coming in shallow pants. He thought things couldn't get worse until darkness engulfed him — a soft cloth wrapped around his eyes, blocking out all light. It was almost more than he could bear and he began to panic.

"Please, don't do this. Let me see. Please, Snape...." The blindfold was becoming damp as it soaked up Harry's tears.

"Relax," Snape said silkily and kissed Harry lightly on the lips. "You'll be fine. Take a deep breath. You can handle this, Evans. You look so beautiful. I've wanted to see you like this for a very, very long time." Snape pushed him gently down to his knees, saying "Lean back on your heels and spread your legs so I can see that pretty cock of yours."

Harry did as Snape suggested, breathing deeply to keep his fear at bay, then when he felt calm enough, he leaned back, resting his bum on his heels and slowly maneuvered his knees away from each other until his legs were spread wide. He did his best to will it away, but he couldn't stop his cock from hardening at the feeling of being on display. He felt Snape's hands on his feet, then a whispered Incarcerous . A rope wound its way like a snake around Harry's ankles, then slithered through the rope that already bound Harry's wrists behind his back.

"Oh gods," Harry gasped when he tugged on his arms and legs and found he couldn't move from the position.

Harry could feel the brush of Snape's robe against his back when Snape knelt behind him, and his body burned with anticipation of where Snape would touch him first. But the touches never came. Instead, Snape began to whisper things, low and sensual, causing Harry to shiver when warm breath tickled his ear.

"I wish you could see yourself, how beautifully wanton you look," Snape purred. "Such a pretty little slut, my pretty little slut. Do you know what I'm going to do to you, Evans? Everything I've always wanted to do to you at Hogwarts but wouldn't because you were a child. I've wanted to lay you over my desk and spank that perfect round bottom until it was red with my hand prints; I've wanted to fuck that pretty mouth of yours until you choked on my cock and swallowed my come as it poured down your throat; I've wanted to pinch and pull on those pert little nipples until they're as hard as tiny pebbles; I've wanted to sink my teeth into that soft, fleshy spot on your neck as I buried my cock deep into that tight virginal arse. You're ready to come right now, aren't you, just at the thought of all these things I've been wanting to do to you. Your cock is dripping with it because you want to come so bad."

Harry found himself thrusting his hips up rhythmically into the air as Snape spoke, wishing he had something, anything, to rub his aching cock against. "Please, Snape, please stop! Stop torturing me like this. Touch me, just touch me, damn it!" His body was on fire everywhere, his nipples, his arse, his cock all throbbing with need.

"Such a demanding little slut you are, Evans. Tell me, tell me what you want me to do to you, my pretty little boy."

Harry spread his legs open as far as they would go, as if the more enticing picture he could present of himself, the better his chance was that Snape would finally touch him. "Gods yes, please, yes." And his tears were no longer from fear. "I want it. I want all of it. I want you to fuck me, and, mark me everywhere you can, and please, please, just...." With a loud shout, Harry threw his head back, falling against Snape's chest and came hard, pearly thick strands pumping out of him with an intensity he'd never known before.

The pleasure rolled through him, seeming to go on forever, and when he thought it would end, he cried out again as he felt a slick, moist hand wrap around his sensitive cock and continue to milk him of the last of his come.

Harry lay panting in Snape's arms, trying to catch his breath. He felt a slight pressure on his head, and realized Snape had kissed him.

"You got my hand dirty, Evans." Snape placed his fingers against Harry's lips. "Clean me," he demanded.

Hesitating, Harry opened his mouth slowly, forcing his tongue out, tentatively taking a first lick, then another, tasting and smelling his come on Snape's fingers as he licked and sucked each one clean. He thought he'd be repulsed, but instead he found himself disappointed when he'd finished and Snape took his hand away.

Snape unbound Harry's ankles, but kept Harry's wrists tied and the blindfold on. Harry was trembling in Snape's arms as Snape rocked him gently back and forth. The tenderness of the act scared Harry more than if Snape had been his usual cruel and hateful self.

"You did very well, Evans. We had to get that first orgasm out of the way, relieve some of that tension you're under." Snape planted feathered kisses along the side of Harry's face as he continued to hold and speak to Harry. "I'll hurt you, Evans, because that's all I know how to do, but I promise you, it will be a good kind of hurt. It won't be anything that you can't handle, and I think you'll come to enjoy it too, if you learn to let go and just submit to me. Now, I need to get some things from the kitchen. It will take me a few minutes, so I'm going to lead you over to the sofa. Ready?"

Harry nodded his head yes, and Snape helped him to his feet. His legs prickled from his being in one position for so long, but Snape kept him steady as he guided Harry to the sofa. Harry leaned back, but with his arms bound, he couldn't get comfortable.

He could hear Snape moving around, the clink of glass and metal, the running of water, the opening and closing of cabinet doors. Harry was amazed at how quickly his hearing had adjusted to compensate for his loss of sight.

The movement in the kitchen stopped, and Harry tensed in anticipation of the unknown. Snape had said he was going to hurt him, and Harry could imagine all kinds of items from the kitchen that could assist Snape in that task.

Harry could hear Snape's steps, muffled by the carpet, as he approached the sofa. Something was set down on the end table with a dull thud, then more clinking against glass.

"All right, Evans. I want you down on the floor, kneeling as before. You make such a pretty picture; I could look at you like that all day, my own private piece of art, decorating my sitting room."

Harry shakily managed to slide off the sofa, thankful for the thickness of the carpet cushioning his knees.

"Evans, I want you like you were before," Snape repeated.

Reluctantly, Harry shifted his weight so he was leaning on his heels again, moving his legs as far apart as he could get them to go and still remain comfortable.

Snape positioned himself again behind Harry, except that this time, it was naked skin pressed up against naked skin. Sometime after Harry's orgasm, Snape had removed his own clothes. Snape wrapped an arm around Harry's side and placed his hand over Harry's balls. Harry expected to be fondled, but instead, Snape just held his balls in his hand in a light, possessive grip.

"You'll need to eat a little something," Snape told him. "I brought some fruit and some juice, a few pieces of cheese. You can't have too much because I don't want you getting sick, but I don't want you fainting from lack of food either. All right? Now, open your mouth — the pieces are all bite size so all you have to do is chew."

Harry did as he was instructed, praying that all Snape would feed him was fruit and cheese like he said, and that none of it would be drugged. Snape could give him anything and Harry wouldn't know what it was, not with the blindfold so secure around his eyes. What choice did he have but to eat what Snape gave him? Snape would insist he did have a choice, but with his arms bound and Snape's hand tugging lightly on his balls, he wasn't about to disobey.

Harry felt Snape place a small piece of something inside his mouth. He closed his lips around Snape's fingers, his tongue tasting the sweetness of something that Snape had touched. Slowly withdrawing his fingers from Harry's mouth, Snape lightly brushed Harry's lower lip as he pulled his hand away. The piece of fruit seemed bland at first - just wet and hard. Biting down on it, it crunched and flavor began to flow out of the fruit - an apple, it was a small piece of apple, sweet and delicious. Along with his hearing compensating for the blindfold, Harry thought that his sense of taste must have also dramatically increased; he never remembered an apple ever tasting so good.

The next thing Snape fed him was soft. Harry didn't even have to chew it; he could just squash it with his tongue — a slice of banana. The third piece of fruit was juicy but sour, with a tinge of bitterness. He hadn't had them much, but when he did, he always added sugar to make them more edible — grapefruit.

He was caught off guard by the chewiness of the next item, even though Snape had told him he had brought it. It was a piece of cheese. After that, Snape helped him drink some juice, being sure to not tip the glass too much and choke him.

Snape continued feeding him by hand for another ten minutes. Along with the apple, banana, and grapefruit, there were also slices of oranges, strawberries, and seedless grapes, and two other types of fruit that he didn't recognize. One tasted similar to a peach, but it had tiny seeds like a strawberry. The other reminded him of a melon, but it was much sweeter and juicier. The fruit was all flavorful, and the pieces of cheese added substance to the small meal. It was satisfying, yet did not make Harry feel full, something for which he was thankful as his stomach was in knots over being here with Snape like this.

All too soon, they'd finished. Leaving Harry in position, Snape got up and returned to the kitchen. More sounds of water running, cabinet doors opening and closing, then silence, a long and disturbing silence. Harry strained to hear something, anything, that would indicate where Snape had gone, but all he could hear was the snapping and popping of the flames in the fireplace. Even though Harry was sure the fire was magical, generating no heat, he felt small droplets of sweat begin to form in the middle of his back.

"You're beautiful, Evans - so scared, yet so brave. You'd do anything to save your friends, even sacrifice your soul to the devil, wouldn't you?"

Harry jumped when Snape spoke, the sound coming from across the room, but getting closer and closer, until Harry felt Snape kneel down and press against his back for the third time that night.

"Giving me your body to keep your friends from going to Azkaban. How noble, how unselfish - an act more worthy of a Gryffindor than a Ravenclaw." Snape wrapped his arms around Harry's chest, and with his fingernails, began scratching around the outside of Harry's nipples. Harry could feel his cock begin to rise up again in response to the harsh stimulation. Snape took each of Harry's nipples between his fingers and began to pinch and roll them around, slowly increasing the pressure until Harry moaned, leaning his head back.

Snape licked the side of Harry's neck, sending small shivers through Harry's body, then began to bite and suck, leaving marks all along the tender patch of skin. One hand remained clamped around Harry's nipple; the other moved downward, cupping Harry's balls, but this time instead of the possessive hold, Snape began rolling them around in the sac, first the left, then the right, then both against each other, tugging and pulling and forcing little mewling sounds from Harry's mouth. Then he moved the hand around Harry's cock, using the dripping precome from Harry's slit to lessen the friction as he began stroking and massaging and teasing at the head.

Harry felt trapped, imprisoned in a cage made of Snape's hands and arms and mouth.

Snape continued to move his hand up and down on Harry's hard cock, talking wonderfully dirty things into Harry's ear. "I'm touching you now, Evans. This is what you wanted before, isn't it? It feels wonderful, doesn't it? I told you that it would. And you know what I'm going to do to you now, don't you? I'm going to fuck you; I'm going to make you scream as I shove my cock deep inside that tight little arse of yours, I'm going to pump you full of my come, then watch as it dribbles back out of your red and abused hole."

Harry couldn't last long like this, helplessly thrusting into Snape's warm hand. He sucked in his breath as he felt his balls draw up, the familiar sensation of orgasm about to overtake him again. Instead, as Harry was about to let go, Snape moved his hand to the base of Harry's cock, clamped down and said, "Constrictus." Harry felt a tight cord wrap around his cock and balls, keeping him from his release.

"No! Snape, please! Oh, please! I need to come. Please! Let me come!" Harry begged.

"No, my little slut, not yet. Soon, but not yet." And Snape kissed him lightly on the neck.

Harry's chest was heaving as he rode through the pain in his groin. Snape pushed Harry forward and held his head down to the carpet, forcing Harry's arse up in the air. Harry whimpered when he felt Snape's slick finger breach his entrance. It was quickly followed by a second, then a third, pushing in and out, moving around, fucking him and opening him up. Harry found himself wishing that Snape had used that numbing hand salve as a lubricant instead of whatever it was Snape had actually used. The fingers hurt and burned, but Harry knew they were nothing compared to what was going to be shoved into him next.

Removing his fingers and releasing Harry's head, Snape placed his hands on Harry's hips. When Harry felt the tip of Snape's cock against his hole, he instinctively began to struggle, to fight to get away, but Snape's hands were like iron, and roughly, Snape pushed through the outer ring of muscle. "Oh gods," Harry uttered pitifully, unable to bear the sensation of fire and of being stretched open wider than he'd ever thought possible. "Oh stop, please Snape, please stop!" Harry could barely get the words out; he felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach, all his breath forced from his body.

Snape pushed further in, slowly at first, then a harsh thrust, followed by another, until finally on the third, Snape was buried deep inside, his balls pressed up against Harry's cheeks. Harry choked back his sobs as the burning pain and fullness enveloped him.

Snape held still, his breath ragged and shallow as he leaned on Harry's back.

"You're so tight, Evans. Who would have thought?" Snape grunted out.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Snape moved, pulling slowly, agonizingly slowly, out of Harry's sore arse. "Gods, Evans," he moaned.

Slowly, pushing in...

"You're mine now."

Then out...

"You belong to me and no one else."

And once again, back in...

Harry barely heard Snape's words, each thrust and each pull burned so much, feeling as if a piece of hot metal were being rammed in and out of his arse. He couldn't control the tears that began to flow, or stop his begging. "Stop, please stop, it hurts...please...."

Snape's hand moved back to Harry's cock, and each thrust into his arse was now accompanied by a stroke to his prick. The pain was still there, but it began changing as Snape's thrusts came faster and harder, touching something sensitive deep inside Harry.

"Say you're mine, Evans," Snape commanded. "And I'll let you come. You want to come, don't you? You need to come. Say it. You're mine. Tell me you belong to me, and I'll let you come."

"Gods, Snape. I'm...I'm yours...please," he choked out, "I swear, I'm yours...just let me come."

Harry knew he was incoherent, babbling and pleading, but he didn't care. He would die if Snape didn't let him come soon.

Two more harsh and punishing thrusts and Harry heard Snape's sultry voice. "Now, Evans, surrender to me. Show me you're mine. Come for me now, my pretty little slut."

The restriction was removed from Harry's cock and balls and he came with a jolt; it felt as if someone were shocking him with a live electrical wire, white pulses of pleasure shooting through his body as he screamed out his release. He felt a gush of wetness inside him, and Snape was coming too. Yanking Harry upright by his hair, Snape bit down hard on Harry's neck, marking him and drawing blood, holding him in a viselike grip as he flooded Harry with his release.

It was over in minutes, leaving them both panting from the high. They leaned against each other for support. Snape continued embracing Harry, lightly touching him all over — his arms, his chest, his neck, his face — as if unbelieving that Harry was real. Snape pressed his face into Harry's damp hair and placed a kiss along the side of his head: the scents of sweat and sex permeated the air.

Taking his chin in his hand, Snape turned Harry's face toward him and kissed him on the mouth, tenderly and passionately, sliding his tongue along Harry's lower lip until Harry opened to him, accepting.

Silence echoed loudly in the room. Snape finally removed the damp cloth from around Harry's eyes but didn't untie his wrists. "Are you all right? Do you need a healing potion?" Snape asked.

Harry was still reeling from what had happened. He was hurting everywhere, but Snape had been right. It was a good kind of hurt. His arse still burned, his neck was aching, but he didn't want those pains taken away from him. He wanted the reminders of what Snape had done to him, how Snape had invaded and possessed him.

"No, no potion. I'll be all right," Harry whispered back. It was quickly gone, but Harry thought he detected a look of approval in Snape's eyes.

Snape Summoned the quilt from off of the sofa and pulled Harry down to lie on the carpet next to him. With Harry's head on his shoulder, Snape's arm around Harry's back, they dozed to the flickering light from the fireplace.

Severus had woken up stiff after a few hours of sleeping on the floor. The carpet was soft, but it was still uncomfortable to sleep on for long periods of time. He thought about untying Evans' hands, but he enjoyed having Evans helpless like this and wasn't quite ready to let him go. He'd roused Evans and had moved them into the bedroom, quickly falling back into a comfortable sleep as soon as they had lain between the sheets. Now early morning, Severus simply enjoyed being here next to Evans, watching as he slept peacefully.

Severus reached out and touched one of the bruises that had formed on Evans' neck. He hadn't expected to be taking Evans so quickly. He had wanted to first find out how Evans had learned to perform the Ritual. But as soon as he'd held Evans in his arms for the Apparition to Spinner's End, he'd been overcome with the desire to dominate and take control, to take possession and show Evans that he belonged to Severus and no one else. Laying his head back down on the pillow, Severus pulled Evans closer against him. The warmth of Evans' naked skin against his felt better than the finest silk sheets. He never wanted to let Evans go.

Harry had never slept so well in his life. He hadn't wanted to get up, feeling warm and protected in Snape's arms, in Snape's bed. Protected would have been the last feeling he'd have associated with Snape, especially with his hands still bound. Snape was the one Harry needed to be protected from . He had hated submitting to Snape, at first. Snape had hurt him, like he'd said he would, but then Harry's body had gone from resisting to accepting, to enjoying, and it had been more than just wanting to be allowed to come when he'd told Snape he belonged to him.

When they got out of bed, Snape had finally untied Harry's wrists, then led him to the shower. Snape took his time washing Harry, starting with the shampooing of Harry's hair, then soaping him from head to foot, lingering a few seconds longer on Harry's cock and balls but not taking any advantage of the situation. Turning Harry to face the wall, he cleaned Harry's back, lingering this time between Harry's cheeks. Harry prayed all the while that Snape wouldn't take him again so soon; he was still terribly sore from last night. But apparently this was only going to be a morning shower for getting clean, and when Snape finished, he handed Harry the shampoo so that Harry could take his turn in washing Snape's hair.

Snape toweled Harry dry, then told him he was to remain naked the rest of the weekend. Harry had felt self-conscious at first, especially with Snape's eyes following his every move, but after thirty minutes or so, Harry began to get use to it. Then Snape would take Harry's balls in his hand and simply hold them like he had the night before, as if to say, 'You belong to me', and Harry would once again feel exposed and helpless. At the same time, though, that strange feeling of being protected entered into Harry's thoughts, so Harry decided to quit thinking about it and accept that this was how things were going to be.

After their shower, they'd gone to the sitting room where Snape had leisurely fed Harry more of the fruit from the night before. It had been an entirely different experience when he'd been able to see the items that Snape placed in his mouth. And the two fruits he hadn't recognized were kiwifruit and mango; he'd never tasted either one of them until last night.

It was almost noon, and they were sitting quietly together on the sofa, drinking coffee. Harry leaned against Snape's chest as they sipped their drinks. Anyone seeing the two of them like this would've immediately thought they made quite a handsome and loving couple. It was peaceful, and Harry thought he could sit like this forever, given the chance. But when he heard the change in Snape's breathing pattern and felt the quickening of Snape's pulse, he knew it was reckoning time.

"All right, Evans, I want the truth," Snape said, breaking the silence but not moving his arm from its possessive position around Harry. "You know I don't abide lying."

"Yes, I remember. What do you want to know?" Harry whispered.

"How did you find out about the Ritual of the Sun and the Moon, about how to make the Water of Life?"

Nothing like getting straight to the point, Harry thought.

"Well, my mother left me her memories, in vials stored in a sealed vault at Gringotts," Harry began slowly. "When I turned eighteen, I inherited the vault. She knew she was going to die; she found out while she was pregnant with me that she had cancer, but she refused to have an abortion so that she could receive radiation therapy. She chose to let me live and sacrificed herself instead. She tried chemotherapy after I was born, but the cancer still progressed.

"So she made a record of her life, things that were important to her and that she wanted me to know about. One of the things was that the Evans family are Potions Magi. Her father was one and had worked in Muggle medicine so that he could use the Water of Life to treat his patients. My mum was making potions for him and had planned on joining his practice, but then he died, and then she died. Normally, the knowledge of the Ritual would have died with her since it's usually passed on in person, from the parental Potions Mage to a child when they come of age. Before the key to performing the Ritual is divulged, the Vows of Heaven have to be taken, acknowledging that the Water of Life cannot be made to benefit the maker, and to not allow anyone to drink the Heaven's Essence. Drinking the Heaven's Essence will result in immortality, and although it appears at first that being immortal would be a good thing, it's really a curse.

"Since the Water of Life cannot be made for the maker's own benefit, my mum couldn't make it to cure her cancer. She didn't want the knowledge of the Ritual to die with her, though, so she got the idea to store her memories at Gringotts and have the vault sealed. She also encoded one of the vials, the actual key to being able to perform the Ritual, to open only if being held while the vow is spoken. That way, she felt secure that no one else would be able to view her memories and see how to perform the Ritual."

A long silence followed as Snape moved his hand up and down Harry's shoulder. Harry wondered if Snape even knew he was doing it.

"You used Sectumsempra, to cut your wrist."

Snape had stated it as a fact, but implied he wanted to know more about it. Harry had hoped to avoid explaining Sectumsempra, especially since he didn't want Snape to know that Harry had viewed his mum's memory of her and Snape's first kiss.

"My mum created that spell. I'm sure you've heard of it, even though it's not in any of the records that she was the creator since she was underage. She used it in the Ritual so that she could control the exact cut on her wrist. I don't know whether or not the blood has to come from the wrist, but that was always where she made her cut, so I continued to do the same. I talked it over with Draco first, to be sure he was okay with my using it, since it was the spell that killed his mum. He understood that my mum didn't create the spell to hurt anyone, and since he's never liked the fact that I have to cut myself, he was glad that I had a way to avoid having to use a knife."

"How long have you been performing the Ritual?" Snape wanted to know.

"Well, when I found out about being a Potions Mage, I talked it over with Draco and Hermione because I didn't have the confidence to try performing the Ritual on my own. They were there with me the first time I did it, but it left me so exhausted, I could barely move for two days. We decided to do more research on it before attempting it again, and it wasn't until Draco and I got the Apothecary that I performed it for the second time. I still get exhausted, but with Pepperup Potion I can recover quickly, usually in two or three hours. I also take a Blood-Replenishing potion, although I don't lose much blood. It's just a precaution."

"So how were you able to get the lists of names from the Board meetings? That is the source of your names, isn't it, who you decide to help?" Snape asked.

How could Harry tell him the truth without getting Lucius into trouble? Lucius didn't mean anything by bringing the lists home. He only did it because he wanted to honor those people that he wasn't able to help. He read each and every name, because it was important to him that they be more than the letters and numbers on the list. Draco had told Harry about one occasion when he'd been home on Christmas break from Hogwarts; he'd walked in on his father in the middle of the night, finding Lucius with the lists in his hands, crying. Lucius had never let anyone know how much his Board responsibilities took their toll on his emotional health, and he'd been embarrassed when Draco found him like that. But instead of being horrified by seeing his father break down, Draco had managed to get his father to talk about it, and from that day on, Draco, and later Harry, provided a comforting ear that allowed Lucius to share his pain rather than keeping it bottled up inside. When Harry had found out he had the power to save these people, he'd approached Draco with an idea, and with Hermione's help, they'd laid out the plan of what they would do once they finished at Durmstrang.

"Evans," Snape said again, this time tightening his arm around Harry slightly, indicating he was waiting and expecting an answer.

"Please, Snape. It's not his fault. I stole the lists from him. Don't blame him. He doesn't know anything about what we're doing." Harry was trembling again. He was furious with himself that he had never once considered how his actions might hurt Lucius.

Snape set his coffee cup down on the side table and took Harry's chin in his hand, forcing Harry to look up at him. Keeping his hand tight and just this side of painful, Snape said firmly, "I want to know, Evans. Tell me who."

Knowing he couldn't avoid answering, Harry said softly, "Draco's father. I stole the names from Draco's father. I made a copy each week when we went to play chess after dinner on Fridays. Lucius doesn't know anything about it. Please, I swear I'm not lying. I'll even take Veritaserum to prove it to you."

Snape released Harry's chin, and with a groan, laid his head back onto the sofa and asked, "Didn't any of you think about what you were doing? What laws you were breaking? What would happen to you when you were found out? Didn't you even think it might be wise not to save patients at just one hospital, or that maybe someone there would notice that all these patients with fatal illnesses were somehow miraculously recovering?"

Looking down at his now empty coffee cup, Harry thought of the questions Snape had asked. "No, we didn't. I suppose we didn't think anyone would really care. The only ones who see those lists of names are Board Members. I guess we assumed that once they'd gone through the list, that was that, they'd done their duty and washed their hands of it.

"Lucius cared, I know, but he didn't go back and check on any of them. He assumed the hopeless cases that were denied potions simply passed away. There were too many of them. It's not as if he could go and attend their funerals. Hermione works at that hospital, so it was the easiest way we had to distribute the potion. Even we know we can't save everyone, so we just helped the patients there."

Thinking it over, Harry was confused. "So how did you find out about us, about the patients, the hospital and all?"

"Tom Riddle," Snape answered. "It was just by chance. He recognized the name of someone you helped, when it appeared in a Muggle newspaper that the boy had made a miraculous recovery. He started checking up on recent names and discovered the higher rate of recovery at the Royal Free. That's when he brought me in. From there, I found that the Water of Life was being used. I didn't know it was you until I accidentally spotted Granger going into the hospital on that Monday when I was finishing my audit of your records. Even then, I wasn't sure whether it was you or Draco."

Harry laid his head back into Snape's chest, hearing Snape's heartbeat and finding comfort in the sound. "So what now? What are you going to tell Tom? Will you...you can't keep this a secret from Tom forever. You'll have to turn me over to him sooner or later. Is this," and he waved his hand, indicating his naked body, "enough for you, to keep Draco and Hermione out of it?"

Snape's arm around Harry tightened again, and he took Harry's empty cup from his hand, setting it on the table. Kissing Harry deeply, he placed his hand over Harry's balls in that familiar, possessive gesture. "More than enough, Evans. More than enough."

Snape pushed Harry down onto the sofa, and covering Harry's body with his own, he proceeded to take Harry for the second time.

It was late Sunday evening. Harry had just Apparated onto the top step at Grimmauld Place. Touching his neck, he tried to pull the collar of his shirt higher in order to hide the many bruises that Snape had left on him. He knew he should have had Snape heal them, but he couldn't find it within himself to act as if the night had never happened. He liked touching them, and remembering how Snape had placed them there. Draco already expected the worst, so what would it matter if he saw them?

As soon as Harry opened the door, Draco and Hermione appeared in front of him.

"Hi," Harry said softly, then looked down at his feet. "I'm all right. I'm sorry if you were worried, but...I'm all right."

Harry looked up and saw the tears in Hermione's eyes. He hated causing them pain like this, but he wouldn't let them go to Azkaban if he could do something to prevent it. He wished he could tell them, though, that what had initially seemed like a sacrifice, had turned out to be something surprisingly wonderful.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione told him. "I don't mean to cry. The longer you were gone, the more my imagination got carried away, and I kept thinking Snape was doing all sorts of horrible things to you. I know I was being silly, but I was scared for you. He's hated you for so long, and I just don't understand how you could let him...." She trailed off, not knowing how to say it.

"It's all right. I know it's a strange situation. I can't exactly explain it myself. But really, I'm all right." Harry's protestations now reminded him of all the times he'd made the same declarations back at Hogwarts, when he returned from his Friday nights with Snape. "I actually, um, enjoyed being with him."

Draco hadn't said anything yet, but he had a murderous look on his face as he stared at Harry's neck. "He hurt you though, didn't he? Just like he did at school." And Draco pulled Harry's hands up and examined his wrists.

Harry tried to pull back, but Draco's grasp was too strong. Even with the cuffs on Harry's shirt buttoned, his friends could see the marks around Harry's wrists from where Snape had tied them.

"What did he do?" Draco shouted. "Harry, what did he do to you? Did he tie you up? Did he rape you? I'm going to kill him!"

"No, Draco, don't, please," Harry implored. "Please, try and understand. He didn't do anything I didn't want him to. Draco! Listen to me. I wanted him to do it!" And as Harry said it, he realized it was true.

Draco just stared at Harry, and insisted on knowing. "Did he tie you up?"

Harry refused to give in, to let Draco think he'd been taken against his will. "Yes, he did, but I liked it. I was scared at first, but then I liked it. I enjoyed everything he did, and I'm not going to go into the details about it. I don't ask how you and Hermione like to have sex, so don't ask me how I like to do it. He also fed me, by hand, and it was romantic. And he held me in his arms, and he kissed my head and...and comforted me. He was rough, but he was gentle too, okay? And I liked it, all of it, and I'm going back to see him next weekend, okay, so get used to it, because, I'm sure I'll be coming home marked like this again! Because I like it."

Draco's lips tightened into a line as he seemed to be fighting to keep himself from saying anything more, but he released Harry's hands. Hermione rubbed Draco's back, trying to soothe him. Finally, Draco said, "I just don't want to lose you, Harry. I worry about you and Snape. You know I always have. There's something strange between you two, something that pulls you together and I'm not sure it's healthy. I just don't want to wake up one morning and have the Aurors knocking on our door, telling us that he's finally killed you."

"I understand," Harry said sadly, hating that he was the cause of his friends' distress. "I'll be careful. I promise."

"All right then," Draco said, appearing to want to forget about things for now. "Let's go into the sitting room. You can help me decide which special order to pick, the fun one or the difficult one."

Scene 5: Suspicions

"Well, good morning, Lucius. Did you have a nice weekend?" Bellatrix asked him. Lucius was already in the room, waiting for the Board meeting to start. He was always the first one there, usually fifteen to twenty minutes early. He liked to take his time going over the names that they were to review that day.

Bellatrix was in a pleasant mood, returning from a weekend spent with a new American lover.

"Yes, Hermione and Draco came for dinner on Friday, but Harry missed again, so I had to spend the evening listening to Draco's complaints. He's been upset about Harry recently."

Tom entered the room now and walked over to the buffet to get some coffee.

"Why?" Bellatrix asked, surprised. "Did they have some kind of falling out? I find that hard to believe, they're so close, and business partners at that. It must make it difficult for them if they're fighting."

"No, no," Lucius added quickly. "It's nothing like that. Apparently Harry is, well I'm not sure you'd call it dating exactly, but he's seeing Severus Snape. Has been since right after Severus came for dinner a few weeks ago. And Harry hasn't worked the last three Saturdays at the shop because he's been spending the entire weekend at Spinner's End with Severus. Harry goes there on Friday night and doesn't come back home until late Sunday evening."

"Well," Bellatrix smiled as she replied, "I'll say that it's unexpected, but both of them are quite attractive men. I do recall, now that you mention it, how they kept sneaking little glances at each other during dinner that night. So what is it about the two of them seeing each other that has Draco upset? Harry works hard at the shop all week, so I can't imagine it's just because he's taken a few Saturdays off. Harry needs some romance, and sex, in his life."

"Well, Draco seems to think that Severus is abusive towards Harry, that back in school, when Severus was their teacher, he hurt Harry and touched him in inappropriate ways. Harry has always denied it, but Draco's not convinced. Now he thinks Severus has something on Harry, something he found during the audit of their inventory records, and is blackmailing Harry into sleeping with him. Harry returns home with bruises around his wrists and on his neck, and those are just the ones Draco sees. He says Harry refuses to undress in front of him, when before it was never a problem. He thinks Harry's hiding more injuries."

Bellatrix smirked a little. "You know, Lucius, Harry is an adult, and sometimes adults like to play games. Believe me, I should know. Unless he shows up with broken ribs or a broken arm, I'm not sure Draco should concern himself with it. And Severus doesn't seem the type to jeopardize his job by blackmailing someone into sexual servitude, although I'd be happy to volunteer."

Lucius laughed. "Remember that Severus was in Slytherin. We're cunning and not above using half-truths to get what we want. You're right though, about Harry being an adult. I'm sure he's quite capable of making his own choices. I tried to get Draco to understand that, but when it comes to Harry, Draco is worse than a mother dragon protecting her young."

They stopped speaking then as the other Board members started to file into the room to begin the day's meeting.

The meeting had seemed to drag on forever, but it was more than likely due to Tom's mind being preoccupied with a flood of jumbled thoughts, bits and pieces of a puzzle that he hadn't even known were part of the picture he was working to solve, creating a new scene that hadn't been revealed until now.

Severus and Harry.

Blackmail.

Sex.

Three weekends.

There was only one thing Severus could be blackmailing Harry with. And Severus was lying to him; he'd said he was going out of town, following leads, yet according to Lucius, Draco had said Harry and Severus were together at Spinner's End. Severus also hadn't said a word about seeing Harry, but that could be because he knew how close Tom was to Harry.

Tom had seen Harry on his birthday at Petunia's, but Harry hadn't mentioned Severus had come to the shop to audit their inventory records, not that he really would have had a reason to. Maybe it was time to pay a visit to the Dragon's Roar and see whether Harry was available for lunch today.

"I'm so glad you came by, Tom. What a surprise," Harry said, a huge smile on his face.

Ruffling the messy hair, Tom explained why he was there. "Well, I was over at Quality Quidditch Supplies to check out the new Transonic M52, and it made me think of you, especially since I placed an order for two of them. They should be here in about ten days. It's been ages since we had a little Seeker to Seeker bet and done any flying together. But I didn't want to wait until then to see you, so I thought I'd come by and take you to lunch, if you can get away."

"Bloody Hell, the new Transonic!" Harry exclaimed. "They've only been available since the beginning of the month, and brooms are always so damned expensive when they first come out. I can't believe you got two of them! I can't wait until they come in. And it has so many unique features: the Stabilator Charm, the Temperature Control Charm, the Anti-Fall Charm, and the Anti-Theft Spell. I heard they had a Rain Repellent Charm too, but had to remove it when the Pro-Quidditch Commissioner protested that one. If they can't sell it to the League, it won't stay around long."

"Yes, it does have some interesting spells and charms, and knowing you, the first thing you'll do is test out that Anti-Fall Charm," Tom said, as he touched the scar on Harry's forehead.

"Yeah, I probably will." Then Harry's tone turned serious. "But it wasn't your fault that rock was there. You did a great job of healing me, and it didn't even scar that badly."

Tom still remembered the day Harry had received his scar. It was the only day Tom had felt true fear, true helplessness, in a situation. Harry had been seven, but they'd been flying together since Harry was five. Tom should have been keeping a better eye on the boy, but Harry hadn't tried any reckless maneuvers in a while. They had been playing one-on-one Seeker, and Harry had seen the Snitch. While Tom looked for it in another direction, Harry stealthily took off after it. But Harry's broom hadn't been quite fast enough, the Snitch remained just barely out of his reach, so Harry had gotten the bright idea to scoot forward on the broom, an inch at a time, closer, and closer, until —

Harry's balance had shifted as he reached out and caught the Snitch, and he'd been thrown off the broom. He had fallen headfirst into the grass and should have walked away with just a lump on his forehead. He'd only been about two or three feet off the ground when he had fallen, but there had been a small, jagged rock hidden in the tall grass.

Tom had flown to Harry's side, turned him over and seen the gash on his forehead, blood gushing everywhere. Harry's eyes were closed and he wasn't breathing, and Tom couldn't find a pulse.

Tom had known better than to do it; the gods had called Harry to them, but he'd already lost Lily and he couldn't stand to lose Harry too. So he had called on a Dark Magic spell he'd found while researching ways to become immortal. The Dark Magic responded, taking a piece of Tom's soul and entering Harry's body through the fatal wound. Tom had screamed as a part of him was torn away by the Dark Magic, but then Harry had gasped, sucking in mouthfuls of air and opened his eyes. He had looked up at Tom, confused but alive, the gaping wound already beginning to heal closed.

Tom had never told Harry the truth; he'd simply let Harry believe he'd used a healing charm to keep the scarring minimal.

"Well, let me ask Draco if he can take over here awhile," Harry told him. "He's in the back, looking through his fun pile of special orders to see where he's going next week."

The lunch had been productive in a way, giving Tom the information he'd been seeking, but raising even more questions. No matter how Tom left his queries open, Harry had never admitted to seeing Severus. When Tom had complimented him on the shop and the well-stocked inventory, Harry hadn't offered up the fact that Severus had just audited their records. Tom had even brought up Draco and Hermione's wedding next year, asking Harry pointedly when he would start to date someone so he could eventually settle down, and Harry had only said he was too busy with the shop to find the time to date right now.

Harry was definitely hiding something, but what? He had never been told about Lily and Severus. Tom thought Severus might have brought it up to Harry, but if he had, Tom was sure Harry would have asked Petunia about it.

Something wasn't right here, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Lucius had said Harry was with Severus every weekend, so Tom decided to be patient and wait until this Friday — and watch where Harry went then.

Tom had cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and was standing down the street from the Dragon's Roar. He didn't have to wait long before he spotted Severus walking into the shop. A few minutes after that, Severus came back out, followed by Harry. Tom waited until they Apparated, then concentrated on feeling where Harry had gone.

Tom had thought this side effect of the Dark Magic which had brought Harry back to life was interesting, but hadn't realized it would be quite so useful one day. He'd discovered that he could feel where Harry was located if he blanked all other thoughts from his mind. It felt as if the piece of his soul that had entered Harry was trying to come back to him and couldn't, so it called out to Tom to come to it instead. He'd first realized that they had this connection a few months after Harry had been hurt. Tom had gone to visit Aunt Petunia and found her frantic with worry because Harry was missing. All Tom had done was to think of Harry, and it'd sounded as if someone were calling Tom's name. It hadn't been quite like a human voice, but that was the only way he could describe it. Tom followed the call and had walked straight to a cherry tree in the garden. Harry was there, starting to wake up and holding a hand to the scar, complaining that it tingled. That's when Tom knew he'd always be able to find Harry, because a part of him was in Harry.

Clearing his mind now, Tom heard his soul call, and followed.

It was early morning now, and Tom was still reeling from what he had witnessed. He was pacing in his bedroom because he couldn't sleep; he was so excited, his mind alive with the possibilities that had opened up to him.

Tom had followed Harry and Severus to a warehouse in a deserted area of Muggle London. There had been strong wards surrounding the building, but apparently the fact that they recognized Harry and allowed Harry through with Tom's soul piece inside him, meant that the wards also recognized Tom and had let him through, too.

And what he had seen, left him stunned.

To think that all this time he'd been searching for a Potions Mage, one had been right there in front of him: his own Harry.

Immortality was finally within his reach.

Draco and Harry had had one of their weekly fights over Snape this morning. Draco acted upset that Harry hadn't been working Saturdays, but Harry knew it wasn't his taking the time off that bothered Draco; it was the fact that he was with Snape. Harry had promised Draco he'd work this coming Saturday, but as expected, it didn't do anything to assuage Draco's anger.

Harry knew after his first weekend with Snape, when he'd come home and declared that he'd enjoyed the rough sex and was going to be going back for more, that he wouldn't be able to hide from Draco and Hermione the fact that Snape knew what they were doing. Harry could not take the risk of getting Lucius into trouble, now that Tom was aware of someone illegally giving potions to Muggles. Snape had also said they should immediately stop using the potion at the Royal Free so that the recovery numbers would drop. That way, in a few weeks, Snape could go to Tom and tell him that the suspect must have found out about his investigation and been scared off. Harry could continue to make the potion, but they should broaden the area where they distributed it and not just concentrate on hospitals in London.

When Harry had told Draco, on that Friday before his second visit to Spinner's End, that he didn't want to get the names from Lucius anymore and why, Draco had reacted exactly as Harry had predicted, telling Harry that now he understood why Harry was having sex with Snape: because Snape was blackmailing him. Harry had tried to deny it, but he'd never been good at lying, and Draco had seen right through him. Draco had become even more furious when Harry had said he wanted Snape to be there in the warehouse with them when he performed the Ritual. Snape had told Harry he'd enjoyed watching Harry perform it, and wanted to see him do it again, and Harry didn't feel he could refuse. But Draco had said that if Snape was there, there was no reason for Hermione and him to be there, too.

So now, every Friday, Snape and Harry went to the warehouse, alone. And every Thursday, Draco and Harry fought about Harry's being blackmailed into seeing Snape. Draco said Harry could lie to himself all he wanted, but Harry would never convince him that he was seeing Snape of his own free will; if what Harry wanted was a real relationship, what he had with Snape wasn't it - a real relationship wasn't about being blackmailed into having sex.

Harry knew he should hate Snape for what he was doing to him. No matter what words Snape made Harry say as far as choice went, Snape was still effectively forcing Harry to have sex with him, or so Snape thought. But as far as Harry was concerned, it couldn't be considered force if he wanted and enjoyed all the wonderfully depraved things Snape did to him.

Harry had never thought he could get so much pleasure from being turned over the man's knee and getting spanked like a child, but he'd come all over Snape's leg after just five swats. He'd been more horrified about coming so quickly than about the additional fifteen swats that kept him from sitting down the rest of the night. And when Snape had transfigured the end table to look like his teacher's desk at Hogwarts and tied Harry's wrists and ankles to the four corners, Harry could have come just from the feeling of being exposed and restrained. Snape hadn't used Dieffenbachiam juice, but the hot candle wax dribbled onto his nipples had burned just as well.

No, the problem with Harry's current situation was the fact that for Snape, it was about control, about power, about hurting Harry for revenge, not about any type of sexual pleasure. And Harry wanted that to change. He wanted to say no to Snape, to say no to his blackmail, and then see if Snape would still want him if he no longer had that power over Harry.

"You know the way? You know we are not allowed to take you there ourselves." The Gringotts goblin peered up at him from next to the tram as he spoke to Harry.

It was Griphook; every time Harry visited his vault, Griphook asked him if he knew the way, and every time, Harry replied, "Yes, thank you."

The goblin always seemed resentful that he wasn't allowed to escort Harry to the vault, but Harry thought that maybe all goblins acted that way. Griphook was the only goblin he'd interacted with since his eighteenth birthday, the day he had received a special sealed owl post, informing him he had inherited his mother's vault. All other correspondence concerning his vault had been by owl post, too.

Harry got on the empty cart and was in front of his vault within minutes.

He opened one of the vials of memories he knew so well, and placed it into the Pensieve. It was Snape and Lily's first kiss, the time Lily had been upset that Sectumsempra had been used to hurt another student. It was so sweet and tender, so thoughtful on Snape's part, one of the very first times Snape had ever shown his true feelings for Lily. Harry could see signs of that boy in the Snape of today, in the way Snape would hold him and comfort him after one of Harry's excruciating orgasms had left him trembling and emotionally drained. And the fact that Snape didn't expect sex on the Fridays Harry performed the Ritual, even though Harry protested that he had plenty of energy after taking the Pepperup Potion, showed Snape could care for Harry as much as he could hurt him.

Seeing these memories, Harry knew he could never hate Snape. Hatred was what had led Snape to do to Harry the things he had done in the first place. What Harry saw in these memories was a man who'd been deeply in love but didn't know how to express it, leading his mum to think that Snape didn't care. The hatred Snape felt for him and his mother ran as deep as it did because Snape had been so hurt. If Harry could find a way to turn that hate around, to get Snape to see he could love Harry just as much as he professed to hate Harry, maybe Harry could bring back that person Snape had been when Snape had been young and in love with Harry's mum.

It was closing time. Harry did his best to mentally prepare for this confrontation, but when Snape entered the shop, the heat that flared between Harry's legs almost made him give up on his plans. He had to be strong; he had to tell Snape 'no more'. It was the only way Harry could see for them of ever having a chance at a real relationship instead of this game of revenge that Snape had been playing with him.

"Ready, then?" Snape asked.

Harry's stomach churned. He wanted to say yes, to go with Snape, to be bound to Snape's bed while Snape made him beg for release. He wanted to feel Snape's warm, wet mouth invading his, Snape's teeth teasing his nipples. But more than anything, Harry wanted Snape to do all those things out of desire instead of hate, so that was why he had to say no.

"I'm not going to Spinner's End," Harry replied with a tremor in his voice.

Snape stared, then asked darkly, "What did you say?"

Harry licked his lips nervously, but repeated more firmly this time, "When I finish the Ritual tonight, I won't be going to Spinner's End."

Snape turned and warded the door locked, then dragged Harry by the arm, down the hall to the office, shoving him harshly against the wall and pinning Harry's hands above his head. Harry couldn't help but be reminded of that fateful day back at Hogwarts, the one time Harry had stood up to Snape and Snape had revealed the reason for his hate. Snape looked as angry today as he had back then.

"Just what exactly do you think you're doing, Evans?" Snape spat his furious words into Harry's ear. "Are you looking forward to spending the rest of your life in Azkaban? You think you have it bad with me? Just wait until some of those inmates get hold of your pretty hide. They'll be lining up to take their turns with you: one will be fucking your mouth while another fucks your arse, and a third will be sucking your cock. You'll be broken and bleeding and on your knees for the rest of your short life, because pretty boys like you don't last long in Azkaban. Is that what you want, Evans?"

"No, I don't," Harry replied, shivering at the images that Snape had conjured up. Snape's grip on his wrists was painful, and Harry had to fight back his instinct to struggle. "But I'm still not going with you."

"How dare you refuse me," Snape hissed back. Releasing his grip on Harry, he threw him to the ground, kicked his legs apart and placed a booted foot down on Harry's groin. The pressure from Snape's foot was uncomfortable on Harry's cock, but not unbearable - yet.

"Please, Snape. I have something to say." Harry's voice was steady, hiding his apprehension over Snape's foot being on such a vulnerable spot on Harry's body.

Snape pressed down harder, making Harry grimace. "No! We are leaving now; you will perform the Ritual, and then come to Spinner's End as usual. There is nothing else for you to say."

Harry's breathing became labored. He was having a difficult time keeping his mind on what he wanted to say to Snape and off his cock, which was beginning to harden under the weight of Snape's boot.

"Please, Snape," Harry managed to gasp out. Damn, if he didn't hurry with this, he was going to begin thrusting up into Snape's foot, and then Snape would know he'd given in. "Please listen to me. If you do, and you still want me to go to Spinner's End with you, I will. Please." Harry laid his head back and used every bit of self-control to hold his hips still.

Snape didn't say anything, but removed his foot from between Harry's legs and stepped away. Harry took a minute to catch his breath, pulled himself upright and crawled into the chair by the desk.

Leaning back against the wall, Snape crossed his arms and stated, "You know I'll turn you and your friends in to the Ministry if you don't come with me."

"No, I don't think you will," Harry shot back, almost wanting to laugh at the look of shock that washed over Snape's face. "You've shown too much concern over our being caught, even though it doesn't appear that way on the surface. The things you've said, the suggestions you've given, all help us to avoid detection. If you planned on ever turning us in, you wouldn't be giving us the information we need to stay hidden."

Taking a deep breath, Harry forced himself to continue. "But that's only part of it. The real reason is that I want more: more from you than this sick, sadistic power trip you're on, forcing me into your bed week after week. I never thought sex with you could be such a turn-on for me, but for you, it isn't about the sex; it's about revenge.

"I didn't tell you before, but there were other memories in my mum's Gringotts vault, not just the ones showing me how to perform the Ritual. I've watched those memories repeatedly for years, and I know all about what happened between you and her. I know she wasn't perfect, but what did you expect her to do? You never wrote to her. You ignored her letters. She began to think you didn't care. Did you expect her to go without any type of affection, for four years? She wasn't looking for a new boyfriend — she just wanted to feel loved. Yeah, she should have taken precautions, but she didn't and that's that. Here I am and there you are, and there's no reason that after all this time we can't just move on and try to break out of this destructive pattern that developed for us back at Hogwarts."

Harry was almost panting now, forcing himself to speak from his heart, when all he wanted to do was hide. "She loved you, you know," he said in a whisper, almost too low to be heard. "She showed me...everything. I know the man you can be, and I know...I...saw...I watched you make love to her. And that's what I want, I want you to make love to me the way you made love to her, because I think...." And calling upon every ounce of courage he had inside him, his heart pounding in his chest, Harry added, "because I think I could be falling in love with you."

"Evans," Severus whispered, not believing what the other man had just said. All this time, he'd thought Lily hadn't cared, had chosen a stranger over him, but if what Evans was saying was true, she had loved him after all, all the way to the bitter end. If only he had been able to show his true feelings to her, how she was his sun and his moon, how she was his world; but he'd been afraid, and she hadn't told him she was dying, and it was all his fault that she was gone. He'd hated himself so much for not being able to be honest with his feelings for her, but instead of accepting his part in their tragedy, he'd placed the blame solely with her, and then on her son, hating them both with a passion.

Severus turned away from Evans. He felt ill, realizing that for twenty-three years, he'd been hating the wrong person. Everything he'd done to punish Evans for his mother's sins should have been directed towards himself.

Severus strode out of the office, unwarded the door of the shop, and Apparated to Spinner's End without another word.

Scene 6: Tom Riddle

Tom was surprised when Severus and Harry didn't leave the shop together as they had done the week before. Tom planned to follow them to the warehouse and interrupt Harry before he was able to add his blood to the Essence, but then Severus came out of the shop alone, and Apparated away. Tom waited another fifteen minutes, but when Harry never appeared, he decided to go and see what had happened.

The door was unlocked, even though the shop was supposed to be closed. The chime sounded as he entered, but no one came to the front.

"Harry, are you in here?" Tom shouted.

It was a few seconds before Harry appeared. His eyes were red-rimmed and it was obvious that he'd been crying. So they must have had a fight, Tom thought.

"Tom," Harry said as he wiped his face and smiled. "I wasn't expecting to see you this evening."

"Well, I thought I'd see if you'd like to take a test ride on the Transonic. I went by earlier today and picked them up."

Harry's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Yes! I'd love to. It's been a rough week. Flying would be just the right thing."

"All right then, Harry. Let's head over to the mansion," Tom said with a smile.

The brooms had performed flawlessly. Harry really needed this, after his rejection by Snape. He'd forgotten how much flying could change his mood, making him feel free, as if he hadn't a care in the world. It was good just to lose himself and become like a bird, soaring into the sky.

Tom and he had each caught the Snitch twice, and even though he wanted to try for a tiebreaker, it had gotten dark so they'd had to call it quits. Tom had said it was self-indulgent enough having a replica Quidditch Pitch on the mansion grounds without going to the extreme of lighting it too.

Harry had taken his time in the shower, letting the warm water caress his body. When his thoughts started wandering to the memory of Snape, and the showers they'd taken together, he decided to finish washing and get out. Toweling off quickly, he couldn't find the clothes he'd worn there — Tom must have taken them to be cleaned, thinking Harry would spend the night — so he threw on a T-shirt and cotton shorts that had been in his room at the mansion. He hadn't stayed overnight for a while, and as much as he wanted to tonight, he needed to get to the warehouse soon and make a batch of the potion for next week. He also had a full day of work in the shop, so he needed to get going soon.

Harry found Tom in the sitting room, waiting for him. When they'd finished flying, Tom had said he had something important to talk with him about. Harry gracelessly flopped onto the sofa next to Tom and laid his head back, relaxing.

"Okay, Tom, what's this really important thing you have on your mind?"

Handing Harry a drink, Tom said, "I've been worried about you, Harry. I overheard a conversation the other day which disturbed me."

Harry raised his head and looked over at Tom's concerned face. "You're worried about me? Why, what did you hear?"

"I heard that you're being blackmailed by Severus Snape," Tom said quietly.

Harry almost choked. Tom knew about Snape? How had he found out? The only ones who knew he was seeing Snape were Draco and Hermione, and neither one of them would have said anything to Tom. Harry had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. If Tom knew about Snape, what else did he know?

Harry looked away, but Tom placed his hand on Harry's arm and said, "I was worried he might hurt you. I heard he mistreated you at Hogwarts, so I wanted to see for myself. And I followed you last Friday, to Muggle London."

Harry turned pale. Tom knew! Tom knew about the Water of Life! How? They'd placed such strong wards on the warehouse after Snape had gotten in. How was Tom able to break through them?

"What did you see?" Harry asked, a note of trepidation in his voice.

"Everything, Harry. I know what you are. I saw the light and heard the music. I saw the Heaven's Essence appear in the cauldron, and I saw you adding your blood. You're the one who's been curing the Muggles."

Tom still held Harry's arm, refusing to let him turn away. Harry was scared. There was no denying what he'd done. It didn't sound like Tom knew about Draco and Hermione though. Maybe he could protect them...there was no reason for all three of them to go to Azkaban. It was a given that Harry would be convicted, but he might have a chance of keeping them out of it.

"I'm sorry, Tom. I...I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Harry had to force himself to breathe, not knowing what would happen now.

Tom pulled Harry to him, and looked him in the eyes. "It's all right, Harry. Don't worry; I'm not going to tell anyone. I know you're only doing it to help the Muggles. But in return for keeping your secret, I need you to do something for me. I need you to make the Heaven's Essence for me."

Harry stiffened. Did Tom understand what he was asking of him, what drinking the Heaven's Essence would do? "Why? Why do you want the Heaven's Essence?"

"Because I want to be immortal. I've been wanting it ever since I heard the legend of the Potions Magi and knew it was possible. I want to live forever, be young forever. I don't want to grow old and ugly, lose my hair and get wrinkles around my eyes. I don't want to lose my hearing or have to wear glasses because I can't read the Daily Prophet any longer without them. I don't want to end up in St. Mungo's with all kinds of spells cast on me to monitor my every heartbeat, every breath and every impulse of my brain!

"You're so young and beautiful, Harry. You can't possibly understand what it feels like. One day you will, and when that day comes, you'll know exactly why I need you to do this for me."

Harry just stared. He'd never realized Tom had been so obsessed with staying young. Tom would make comments about it all the time, but Harry had thought they were the remarks everyone made as they began to age. Tom wasn't even that old yet! Wizards lived two or three times longer than Muggles. "But Tom, how do you know it will keep you young? How do you know you won't just get old, but never die? That would be horrible."

"The way the Heaven's Essence leads to immortality is by causing the body's cells to constantly renew themselves," Tom explained. "And damaged cells will be replaced by new, repaired cells. When the blood of a wizard is added to the Essence, it's changed so that the renewing effect is lost. The repairing effect is maintained, and that only works on currently damaged cells."

"How do you know all this?" Harry asked, not believing that anyone could have such in-depth knowledge about the two potions. He didn't even know how they worked.

"Because I've studied the potions for years, ever since I found out about them, and about the fact that I'm a direct descendant of the original Potions Mage," he said proudly.

"You're what?" Harry was in shock.

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" Tom asked. "I finally found out who my parents were when I was twenty, after looking for three years. I had always assumed my father was the wizard because my mother had died when I was born. If she was magical, why didn't she save herself? When I found her brother, Morfin, living in a modest home on the outskirts of Little Hangleton, he told me all about her, about how she was the last in the line of the original Potions Mage, the boy who actually witnessed the Sun and the Moon making love. Except that now that my mother was dead, the key to the Ritual was lost. You see, Morfin was a Squib and didn't have the magical ability to perform the Ritual, so he had never been given the key. He was very kind to me, happy to meet a nephew he'd never known he had. He was more than willing to tell me about my heritage as a Potions Mage, about the Heaven's Essence and the Water of Life, but he couldn't tell me the most important thing: how to make them.

"I found my father here, living a life of luxury in this mansion without a care in the world. He'd coldly abandoned my mother, knowing she was going to have his baby, so I killed him just as coldly. Before I did though, I forced him to sign over his wealth to me, converted it all to Galleons, then bewitched the house so that no one, Muggle or wizard, could find it and know what I had done.

"I knew that somewhere here in Wizarding Britain there had to be another Potions Mage, probably more than one. I considered how best to go about finding one and decided to become a member of the Potions Control and Monitoring Board. That way, I'd have access to every Muggle name that was submitted for potions assistance. I could keep track of the rejected cases and watch them to see whether any of them had unexplainable recoveries.

"But do you know how many names the Board reviews in a month? At first, I'd check them every week. Then I cut back to every month, but I was still overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. I couldn't keep up with them all. So I decided to only check every six months, once in the autumn and once in the spring. Even then, I had my work cut out for me.

"Imagine my shock when I saw the numbers at the Royal Free Hospital! By then, I had almost given up hope. For fifteen years, I'd been checking names, Harry. Fifteen years! I couldn't believe it! So I checked the prior month, and then the month before that, all the way back for a full twelve months. The recoveries started going up last September: the month after you and Draco opened your shop.

"I didn't realize it was you though. I called Severus in to investigate. I led him to think I had accidentally found out that someone was illegally using potions without Board approval. I told him I had read a Muggle newspaper report about a 'miraculous recovery', and recognized the name as one of our rejected cases. I was sure a Potions Mage was responsible for the spike, but I indicated that I thought it was someone a Board member was sleeping with. I asked Severus to keep it quiet, fully expecting he would easily locate the suspect and bring him to me directly. My plan was to get the Potions Mage to make me the Heaven's Essence in return for keeping him from being sent to Azkaban. Unfortunately, I would've had to arrange some type of fatal accident for Severus, as he would know something was wrong when his suspect was never charged. I hated having to kill him, but I didn't see a way around it.

"I have to say I'm surprised that when Severus found out about you, he lied to me about it and blackmailed you into his bed. It's not like him to do something so irresponsible in regard to his job. But at this point, it no longer matters. I'm in awe that I even found another Potions Mage, let alone that it's you. Now that I have, I need you to make the Heaven's Essence for me."

Harry's head was spinning. He couldn't take in everything Tom was telling him. It was too unbelievable, too fantastic. But he was going to have to tell Tom no, even if it meant life in Azkaban.

"I can't," Harry said sadly. "I made a Vow not to allow anyone to drink the Heaven's Essence before I was shown how to make it. If I break that Vow, I lose the power to make it."

"Harry, you can't make any more anyway, not now that Severus and I both know. It would be too risky. If you keep up the way you are, you're going to be found out eventually, and by someone who will either turn you in to the Ministry or who will find a way to use your power for their benefit."

"How is what you're asking me to do not for your benefit?" Harry asked in despair.

"It's different, Harry. We're family," Tom said softly, caressing the side of Harry's face.

"I can't! I won't!" Harry made to get up from the sofa, but Tom firmed his hold on Harry's arm and pulled him back.

"No, Harry. You're not leaving, not until you make the Essence for me. I thought you loved me, Harry. Don't you care about me anymore? I've always been there for you, always taken care of you. Now I need you to be there for me, to take care of me and my needs."

Then Harry felt Tom's lips on his and was shocked when he realized that Tom was kissing him — not the fatherly kind of kiss that Uncle Tom would give, but the long, lingering, possessive kiss of a lover.

Harry pushed Tom away with all his strength. "Tom! Stop! What are you doing? I don't think of you that way. I love Snape!"

Tom angrily yanked Harry up off the sofa and, twisting Harry's arm behind his back, started pushing him towards the stairs. "You love Severus, do you? What has he ever done for you but hurt you? Your mother was exactly the same. I worshipped her. I would have given her anything, but she chose Severus over me, just like you're doing now. Well, I need you to do something for me, Harry. I need that Essence, and you're not leaving here until you make it for me. You like how Severus treats you? You like him hurting you? Well I can hurt you too, Harry. Then will you think of me that way?"

And then they were in Tom's bedroom, and Tom was pushing Harry down onto the bed, and all Harry could think about as Tom's weight held him in place was that no one knew he was here, and no one was going to come to save him.

Tom watched as Harry slept peacefully now. Harry had fought like a wildcat, but Tom had had his way in the end, and Harry had ended up enjoying himself in spite of denying he had any feelings for Tom. Tom hated having to be rough with Harry, but all Harry'd kept saying was he didn't want Tom, he wanted Snape! As if Snape would treat him any better than he'd treated Lily. Snape, Snape, Snape!

What was it about that man that had captured Lily's heart, and now the heart of her son? Whatever it was, Tom would be able to use it to get what he wanted.

Tom slipped out of bed and left the room, locking the door behind him. It was still dark, just before dawn, and he Apparated to Spinner's End.

There was a pounding on the door, loud and insistent. Severus thought if he waited long enough, they would go away. After five minutes of non-stop banging, he managed to open his eyes to see where he was.

It was dark in the room, his sitting room, and he was splayed out on the sofa, an empty bottle of Firewhisky tipped over on the floor. Slowly, the previous night came back to him, memories that he'd tried to wash away by drinking himself into oblivion.

He was going to hex the balls off of whoever was trying to knock his door down, if he could find his wand, damn it!

Oh, fuck it! He just wanted that noise to stop before the Muggle neighbors called the police on him. Staggering to the door, he shouted, "Whoever it is, leave now if you want to live to see tomorrow morning!"

"Snape, let me in! It's Draco Malfoy."

As hung over and bleary-eyed as Severus was, he could still make out the wand pointed directly between his eyes when he opened the door to let Malfoy in.

"Where is he, Snape?" Malfoy shouted. "Where is Harry? What have you done to him this time? I swear, if you've seriously hurt him, I remember how my mum cast the Killing Curse, and I don't think the Wizengamot will convict me when I tell them why I used it!"

Severus was certainly awake now, not so much because his life was being threatened, but because of what Malfoy had just said. "What do you mean, Harry's missing?"

"Don't lie to me!" Malfoy's hand was shaking, he was so angry. "I know what you used to do to him at Hogwarts, even though he'd never admit it. Now that you're back in his life, it's happening all over again. You won't be satisfied until you finally kill him, will you?"

"Malfoy, stop. Listen to me," Severus said, trying to will Malfoy's rage away by the calm in his voice. "I would never kill Harry. You're right that I've hurt him, and it used to be on purpose, because it gave me a perverse pleasure in being able to harm the son of the woman I believed betrayed me. But it hasn't been that way for a while now," he added quietly. "We had a fight last night at the shop. Harry refused to come with me, said he didn't believe I would turn you three in to the Ministry."

Malfoy shoved Severus into the wall, digging his wand painfully into Severus' throat. "So what did you do to him? Is he all right? Severus, please, if he's hurt badly, just let me get him to St. Mungo's."

"I didn't do anything to him. He told me some things about Lily, and about himself, and I left him there. I just walked away because I didn't know what to say. And he was right, you know. I wouldn't turn you in to the Ministry. I said that I would because..." and damn, how he hated to admit it, "because I wanted him back in my life, and I didn't see any other way to get him. And once he came back, I didn't know any other way to treat him than the way I had at Hogwarts."

Malfoy's rage appeared to be cooling, now he saw that Harry wasn't there at Spinner's End. "Then, where is he? He didn't show up today at the shop, after he promised he would be there. I activated the emergency Portkey, but it came back by itself. He said he was seeing you last night, so I thought something bad had happened this time. The Security ward was set at the shop, and I checked the time to see when Harry left. It showed thirty minutes after closing, but it also showed two people going out the door, not just Harry. I thought it was you he left with, but someone else must have come by after you. It had to have been someone he knew or he would have entered the silent alarm code instead of the enable code when he went out." Rubbing his hands over his face, Malfoy repeated in a worried tone, "Where could he be?"

Severus didn't want to have to tell Malfoy what he'd done to him and Evans the day he completed his audit of their records, but he didn't see that he could avoid it. It was more important that they find Harry. "There's another way I might be able to locate him."

Taking Malfoy into the kitchen and over to the table, Severus retrieved the laptop and turned it on. "Did Evans mention to you that I've been able to get a Muggle computer to work around magic?"

Malfoy shook his head. Severus should have known Evans was too honorable to break his word and talk about the laptop when he'd said that he wouldn't.

As Severus started his program, he continued to explain to Malfoy about the GPS spell. "I have a spell that I created when I was doing my testing. I can cast it on an individual, and my program will then allow me to map their location on this laptop."

Severus saw Malfoy's eyes widen when he realized the Muggle laptop actually was working around magic.

"On the last day of my audit, I cast the spell on you and Evans because I didn't know which one of you was the Potions Mage. That's how I was able to find you two at the warehouse," Severus told him.

"You know," Malfoy began, making an obvious attempt at keeping his temper in check, "I'm not surprised that you'd do something like that, and I should be really angry, but right now, if it leads us to Harry, I'll think about forgiving you."

Malfoy watched the screen change as Severus typed in numbers and clicked things, until a tiny red dot appeared on a map. Severus heard Malfoy suck in his breath in surprise.

"He's in Little Hangleton. That must be the location of Tom's mansion. Your spell is pretty powerful to be able to circumvent Tom's bewitchments," Malfoy said, as he tapped the red dot indicating Harry on the screen. "Harry didn't say anything to me about going to spend the night with Tom. Why would he be there? Something's not right about this. Even if you two had a fight, he would have let me know if he was spending the night there. I wonder whether he even made it to the warehouse to make the potion?"

"Where's Granger?" Severus asked.

"She's probably at Grimmauld Place. When Harry didn't show up this morning, I came straight here. Why?"

"Because," Severus said, "that night in the warehouse, I heard her boasting about how she created that Portkey coin. If it returned to you through Tom's wards, the wards must be minimal, if they exist at all. He probably thinks his bewitchments are so strong, he doesn't need any wards — no one could find the mansion. He didn't consider he'd have to update his bewitchments against new Muggle technology as it developed. We have the coordinates of Harry's location. Do you think Granger can find a way to use them to get that Portkey back to Harry, and take us along with it?"

In an insulted tone, Malfoy said, "My Hermione can do anything. Let's go. I'm really worried about this. We need to get to Harry as soon as possible."

Harry's first conscious thought as he began to wake was how much he hurt all over. Snape had never been as rough with him before to cause him to feel this bad. Then opening his eyes wide with a start, he looked around the room and remembered the horror from the night before.

Harry was naked, but at least he was alone. Where had Tom gone? How long did he have until Tom came back? Getting out of bed, Harry tried the door. He should have expected it to be locked, but he was still disappointed when he found that it was. The drop from the second floor windows was too far. There was no way out.

Finding his underpants and shorts on the floor, he put them on and lay back down on the bed. He stared up at the ceiling, trying to think of a way out of his predicament. He couldn't believe what Tom had done to him. It was worse than anything that had happened with Snape. Snape had never hidden the fact that he hated Harry, but Tom — Tom was like a father to him, someone he looked up to, someone he trusted. It was the ultimate betrayal. Harry felt used and dirty, and he wondered whether there was something he'd done along the way to cause this, to lead Tom into thinking that Harry felt a different kind of love for him than the kind a son feels for a father. Snape had always called him a slut, and after last night, that's exactly how Harry felt.

Harry had begged and pleaded with Tom to stop, telling him that he didn't feel that way about him. But Tom hadn't stopped, and Harry's body had responded. How could Harry deny that he'd wanted it when he'd had not one, but two orgasms during the night?

Well at least Harry didn't have to worry about Snape's rejection now. Snape would never want him after what Tom had done.

Harry was jolted from his thoughts as the door opened and Tom walked in.

"You're up already. How did you sleep?" Tom asked.

Harry glared at him, not bothering to answer.

"Fine, Harry, we can play games if you'd like. My morning has been productive so far. Would you like to know what I've been doing?" Tom asked him with a tilt of his head.

Harry still refused to speak, continuing his cold stare.

"Yes? Well, I've just returned from Spinner's End," Tom said with a smile.

Harry looked at him, startled. "Spinner's End? Why did you go there? What did you do? You didn't do anything to Snape, did you?"

"No, not to Snape, not directly anyway." Tom paused for a few seconds to let his words sink in, then continued. "Have you ever heard of the Sudare Potion?" he asked.

Harry shook his head, not trusting himself to keep his creeping fear from affecting his voice if he spoke.

"Well, I wouldn't think so. It's not something they'd teach you at Hogwarts, or even at Durmstrang nowadays. You'd probably only run across it if you were studying Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, which is part of the Auror Training Program. It's a Dark Potion, Harry, illegal to make since 1528 when it killed a large portion of Muggle London, forcing the king and his court to flee the city. The Muggles never knew what caused it, but they came to fear it. It's a wonderful potion because that feeling of fear is the first symptom that appears, so those poor Muggles never knew whether they were suffering the first symptom, or merely experiencing the normal terror associated with any epidemic. Within twenty-four hours, the body goes from having intense, cold shivers to breaking out in a sweat, accompanied by delirium as the body temperature rises. Finally exhausted from the ordeal, the victim falls into a deep sleep, never to wake.

"Because it's illegal, the formulation is locked away in the Ministry. Only certain, high ranking Ministry officials, such as myself, have access to the area where it's kept. It's not a difficult potion to make, and you don't need much of it in order to infect a large number of people. Once it's added to, say, the water supply for a street, like Spinner's End, it quickly multiplies so that it will infect anyone who drinks the tap water in their home."

Pausing again, and looking at Harry with a wicked glint in his eyes, Tom asked, "Severus does love his morning coffee, doesn't he, Harry? I seem to remember that he has that habit, filling the pot with the water from the tap in his kitchen."

Harry stared at Tom in horror, panic coursing through his veins, hoping beyond hope that Tom was making all this up to scare him. "Please, Tom, tell me you're lying. You couldn't do something so monstrous. You couldn't kill innocent people like that!"

Tom walked over to the bed and angrily grabbed Harry by the shoulders. "You make me the Heaven's Essence if you want your precious Severus and his town to live! If you don't," Tom hissed, "everyone in Manchester will be dead within forty-eight hours."

Oh my gods, he's really done it! Harry closed his eyes in defeat. What choice did he have? "All right, Tom. You win. Where do you want me to perform the Ritual?"

Pulling Harry into an embrace, Tom said excitedly, "That's my Harry! I knew you'd come through for me. I have the perfect room downstairs, where we won't be disturbed. Thank you, Harry, my love. I knew you cared for me after all."

As Tom led Harry out of the room, Harry prayed to everything and anything under the sun that somehow, he'd find a way out of this nightmare.

Hermione held the Portkey coin in her hand as she tapped it with her wand. Severus and Draco were standing with her, listening as she explained her spell. "It works by touching an intermediate item; unlike an ordinary Portkey, this one is spelled so that it will work with indirect touch. In other words, the fact that it's in the pocket of Harry's jeans when he is wearing them is what makes the indirect spell work to Portkey Harry back to whoever activates it. The jeans are acting as an intermediary for the touch. If Harry were to place the coin in the pocket of a shirt that he's wearing, the shirt would act as the intermediary.

"Now since the coin came back by itself when Draco activated it, either someone removed the coin from the pocket of Harry's jeans, or Harry wasn't wearing his jeans. I agree that Tom probably doesn't have very strong wards, counting on the fact that no one can locate the mansion, and so the Portkey wasn't blocked from leaving. I've now modified the coin to act like an ordinary Portkey, so it should be able to take us to Tom's mansion, based on the coordinates you gave me."

"What happens if he does have wards up to keep people out, and we're attempting to Portkey through them?" Draco asked nervously.

"The Portkey will take us as close to the coordinates as it can get. If there are wards, we'll be stopped at their edge and we'll have to find another way in. Let's just hope for the best," she said.

"All right, but we still need a plan. Any ideas what to do once we're in, Snape?" Draco turned to Severus, trying, but failing, to hide his anxiety.

"I could think better if you'd allowed me the time to make a decent cup of coffee before we left Spinner's End. This tea is no substitute," Severus said with a tired sigh. At least the hangover potion had taken effect and his headache was gone. "Anyway, we don't really know where we're going to appear in the mansion, assuming we get in the mansion. I don't know what it looks like inside. Evans said that you've been there to play Quidditch. How well do you know the layout, Malfoy?"

"Harry has his own room there...it's on the second floor," Malfoy replied, seeming to be picturing in his mind the floor plan of the mansion as he spoke. "It's down the hall from Tom's. I've only been in that wing of the mansion, plus the areas on the main floor, and I'm pretty sure there's a wine cellar underneath the kitchen. I recall seeing Tom coming upstairs once with a bottle of wine."

"You'll have to lead us then, Malfoy. Wands out and at the ready," Severus instructed.

The three of them touched the coin that Granger held out in her hand, the familiar pull of the Portkey taking them to Riddle's mansion.

Harry was breathing hard and his body was covered in sweat, as if he'd just run a marathon. He always felt exhausted after finishing the Ritual.

"I've kept my part of our bargain," Harry said to Tom. "Take what you need from the cauldron, then let me have my wand so I can add my blood to the rest."

Tom took Harry's wand from his pocket where he'd been keeping it ever since removing it from Harry's clothes, and slowly walked toward Harry.

Harry licked his lips nervously. He didn't trust Tom, but without his wand, he couldn't make the cut on his wrist to drip his blood into the Essence. But the way Tom looked at him as he approached told Harry the truth. This was what he'd been afraid would happen once Tom got what he wanted.

"You're not planning on letting me make the Water of Life, or letting me leave here, are you, Tom?" Harry asked.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I can't let you tell anyone what you know about the contamination. I promise if you don't fight me, I won't make it painful for you. Just one cut...it will be over with quickly," Tom told him as he continued his slow walk toward Harry.

Harry didn't know what to do. Tom was between him and the door, and without any Pepperup Potion, he could barely stand, let alone be able to fight his way out of the room.

"Please, Tom," Harry implored. "At least let me finish the potion first so you can give it to Severus. You don't even have to let him know you're doing it. I promise I won't fight you if you do. Please!"

"I can't do that, Harry," Tom replied. "With you dead, Severus would hunt me down to the ends of the earth. I can't let him live."

Oh gods, Harry thought. All those people in Manchester were going to die.

"Why Tom? What have any of those people done to you? Why can't you just let them have the potion?" Harry couldn't believe Tom was doing this. He couldn't believe Tom, who had dedicated his life as Chairman of the Board to helping Muggles, was now turning his back on them.

"Because, Harry," Tom said with a smile, "just like my father, they're filthy Muggles. They don't deserve to live and they don't deserve our help. Every case I watched get turned away was one more Muggle that would suffer or die. I hated them all, and the fact that Severus is going to die too doesn't bother me now in the least. He's taken from me the two people I've ever loved, and he's going to pay for that."

Tom stood in front of Harry, just inches between them now. He slowly placed one hand around the back of Harry's head, entwining his fingers through Harry's hair. Pulling back gently, Tom placed the wand against Harry's exposed throat.

Harry put his hands up on Tom's chest, but had no strength to push him away. He closed his eyes and waited. Harry didn't want to die, but unlike Tom, he wasn't afraid of it. Tom leaned down and kissed him tenderly, then Harry felt a stinging, burning sensation in his neck as Tom cast Sectumsempra, cutting through Harry's skin and slicing into the artery.

There was a deafening explosion and a blinding white light invaded the room. Tom released him and Harry fell against the table. Harry put his hand to his neck and felt something wet and sticky. Pulling it away, he saw his hand was drenched in blood. His ears were ringing and he was feeling lightheaded.

The Essence! If Harry could get some of his blood into the Essence, there was still a chance to save Snape.

Harry heard shouting; someone was yelling his name. "Harry, get down! Get out of the way." But Harry ignored them. He saw Tom crouching on the floor, firing off spells into the smoky haze of magical explosions in front of them. Tom grasped Harry's wrist and he tried to pull Harry down, but another spell shot towards them and Tom was forced to roll to the side, causing him to lose his hold on Harry.

Harry put his hand back to his neck, and this time when he pulled it away, he held it over the cauldron. There was so much blood! Much more blood than he had ever used before, and Harry hoped it wouldn't be too much.

Harry's strength gave out, but as he fell to his knees, he could see the Essence change, becoming crystal clear. The extra blood hadn't harmed it. It had changed into the Water of Life!

When Tom saw what Harry had done, he screamed, livid with rage. "No! You've ruined it! You filthy little bastard!" Harry looked up and watched Tom moving as if in slow motion, knocking over the cauldron with the potion Harry had just made, spilling it all to the ground. Grabbing Harry by the hair to hold him in place, Tom hissed, "There will be no saving your precious Severus, and there will be no saving you, either. You're dead, Harry." Tom placed the wand against Harry's throat, ready this time to finish what he'd started.

Another flash of light filled the room, this one bright green, and Tom's eyes became like glass as he fell to Harry's side, the wand falling harmlessly from his hand and clinking to the ground.

Harry was so tired. His throat hurt and his ears were roaring with the sound of his heart beating fast. He lay back on the floor, his life bleeding out of him.

Harry was so relaxed and peaceful. He was floating, drifting into nothingness. He was sure he heard someone murmuring over him — it almost sounded like a song - but he was too tired to care anymore. He had failed to save Spinner's End...he had failed to save Snape.

Scene 7: You Are Not Alone

Harry felt like he was floating. He could hear voices, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. He felt like he was underwater and couldn't find his way back to the top. He had to swim; he had to get his head above the water so he could shout out. He had to find Draco and Hermione, and he had to warn Snape not to drink the water at Spinner's End. He had to let them know people were going to get sick and start dying, but he couldn't move. He was drowning and he'd let Snape down, and Snape was going to die because he was too weak to make any more of the Water of Life.

No! Harry screamed, as loudly as he possibly could. Draco! Hermione! Someone, help me! Please, help me! I love him! I can't lose him now!

Harry could see a light, no — two lights, shining and sparkling their way down to him, down through the layers of water.

And Harry heard them speak to him, calling to him, leading him to the surface. Their voices were so beautiful, so soothing and sweet. They thanked him for making the Heaven's Essence, for allowing them to be together and make love. Then he was sure he heard them say, "Do not worry, little one. You are not alone."

And he broke through the surface of the water, gulping lungfuls of cool, clean air.

Snape, Draco, and Hermione had not left Harry's bedside at St. Mungo's for the past four hours. After Draco had cast the killing curse on Tom, only Snape's quick thinking and use of the countercurse to Sectumsempra had saved Harry's life. He'd closed the wound in Harry's neck, but Harry was so weak, and he'd lost so much blood, that they were afraid he wouldn't make it. The Healers had been giving him Blood-Replenishing Potion every fifteen minutes, as much as they dared, and now all the three of them could do was wait.

They were dozing off, the strain of the fight with Tom Riddle taking its toll, when suddenly Harry gasped, sitting up and looking around wildly.

"Draco! Hermione!" Harry shouted.

Draco and Hermione both jumped up and ran to his side. "Harry! We're here, it's all right," Draco said, trying to soothe the frightened man. "Calm down, Harry. You'll open the wound on your neck if you're not careful."

"No, you don't understand. It's Tom! He's contaminated the water, at Spinner's End. He used Sudare Potion and put it in the water. Please, you have to find Snape. Tell him to not drink the water! Please. Don't let him die."

"Evans, I'm fine," Snape said in a firm voice, joining Draco and Hermione at Harry's side. "I didn't drink any water. I didn't even have time to make coffee before Malfoy appeared on my doorstep, worried about where you were. I'm all right."

Finally seeing Snape now, and understanding the words as they sank in, Harry fell back onto his pillow in relief. Snape was safe!

Harry reached out and took Snape's hand. "I didn't know Tom would try and hurt you. I'm so sorry. He was jealous of you, jealous that my mum loved you and not him, and then jealous when I said I loved you too. He...he...." But Harry couldn't speak anymore, couldn't tell Snape the truth about what Tom had done to him. Instead, he continued talking about the potion, becoming more and more frantic as he explained. "Tom put Sudare Potion in the water supply for Spinner's End. I can't perform the Ritual yet. I don't have the energy to make any more potion. I've never been able to perform it more than once in a day; it takes too much out of me. They're all going to die, and it's my fault. Tom only did it because he wanted me to make him the Heaven's Essence, so he could become immortal. I refused to do it, so he locked me in my room, and he contaminated the water to force me to make the Essence."

Harry was crying, holding onto Snape and shaking uncontrollably. A Healer came in with some Dreamless Sleep, making Harry drink it all. In a few minutes, Harry became drowsy, unable to keep his eyes open any longer. "All those people...all my fault..." were the last words from his lips as he fell into unconsciousness.

After the Healer left, Snape looked at Draco and Hermione. "I need your help. Can you leave him for a while? He should be fine now."

Hermione turned to Draco for direction. Draco's eyes narrowed as he asked, "Why do we have to leave him?"

"Because," Snape took a deep breath, "there are people who will die without the Water of Life.

"And I can make it for them."

They were at the warehouse. When Lily had died, Severus had vowed never to perform the Ritual again. He wasn't even sure he could. He'd been so angry and full of hatred for so many years, he couldn't imagine finding that feeling of love and peace that he needed in order to be able to call up the Vision: the key to the power of the Ritual.

But Evans needed him, and he...he cared for Evans. He couldn't say if he loved Evans; Severus wasn't sure if, after all this time, he was capable of that emotion anymore. But it had torn his heart apart to see Evans in such distress at the fact that so many people were going to die; it was the same way he'd felt when Lily had been so upset about that student being hurt by Sectumsempra.

So here Severus was, doing what he'd sworn he'd never do again. Malfoy looked on coolly, apparently unsure whether to believe what Severus had told them. Granger just seemed hopeful.

Severus closed his eyes. He could remember the Vision, the Vision of the Sun and the Moon, the Vision his own mother had passed on to him when he'd turned eighteen. He had wanted so much to share it with Lily, but, like all things to do with Lily, he'd been afraid: afraid if she found out what he was, she wouldn't want him anymore.

Severus could hear the music, but it wasn't right, it wasn't enough. It was too slow, too low, too...sad. He tried harder, trying to imagine the Sun and the Moon making love, exactly the way his mother had shown him, but he couldn't do it, he simply didn't feel it. It wasn't the right love.

Then Severus thought of Evans, the boy he'd hurt for so many years at Hogwarts, the one who'd never turned his back on Severus when so many others would have given him up as a lost cause. Evans had kept on fighting for him, trying to get past the walls Severus had built up to protect his heart, trying to find the love that he believed Severus could give him.

And Severus heard it, as his thoughts took him back to all those times Evans and he had made love.

The music started to play, and Severus felt the light beginning to shine. His memory of the Sun and the Moon wasn't what he needed — he needed Evans, he needed to admit what he felt for Evans. He'd thought all this time the pleasure he'd been receiving was because he hated Evans and enjoyed hurting him, but that wasn't it at all. And Evans had seen that, and given him a chance, wanted a chance to have Severus' love.

Severus heard the music become louder, faster, wilder and far more beautiful than he ever remembered it being. He could feel them, the tiny beings of light swirling around him, engulfing him, touching him and becoming one with him.

Severus heard Malfoy and Granger cry out, but he couldn't see them; he could only see his vision of Evans and himself making love. Then came the explosion and he could see the flash of brightness through his closed eyelids. Silence filled the room, and when he finally opened his eyes, all he could see was the liquid in the cauldron — the Heaven's Essence glowing silver and gold.

Quickly picking up his wand, Severus cast Sectumsempra, then dripped his blood into the Essence. Within seconds, it turned clear.

"Snape," he heard Malfoy say in awe, "you did it! You did it." And he was being hugged by both Malfoy and Granger at the same time.

Severus was exhausted. He'd forgotten how much energy performing the Ritual took. "Do you have any Pepperup Potion?" he managed to ask.

"Yes, Mr. Snape, I have some over here. I'll be right back." Granger walked over to a side cabinet and began rummaging through it.

Malfoy gave Severus a look of disbelief. "That was different. You did something different from Harry. There were no glowing orbs; there was light and dark, but you saw something else, didn't you? And the music, the music wasn't the same. It was, but it wasn't."

Severus asked Malfoy guardedly, "Has Evans told you about what he sees, about the Vision when he performs the Ritual?"

"No, of course not," Malfoy replied. "We know he had to take a vow and can't show it to us, but we're not stupid either. The orbs represent the Sun and the Moon, and when he brings his hands together, it's them making love. And the Heaven's Essence...well, I would say that's the result of their orgasm. At least it feels that way when you're standing in the room with Harry when he performs it. But you, you saw something different, didn't you?"

Granger was back then with the Pepperup Potion, and Severus drank it slowly as he tried to find a way of avoiding answering Malfoy's question.

"It was Harry, wasn't it?" Granger guessed. "You saw Harry and...." A light went on in her eyes when she saw Severus stiffen at her words. "You, it was the two of you that you saw! He was the light and you were the dark. You really do love Harry, don't you?"

Rubbing his temple, trying to will away the headache he felt coming on, he told her, "I'm tired, Miss Granger. I think we should discuss this another time. You two have work to do. You need to get the Water of Life distributed to Manchester right away; people living near Spinner's End will have been drinking the water for most of the day, and some will start feeling the effects soon. I'm going back to St. Mungo's to check on Evans and tell him what we've done here."

With a wide grin on her face, Granger said, "We'll take care of this. Tell Harry we love him and we'll be there as soon as we can." And she gave Severus a tight hug.

Severus wanted to push her away, but found himself hugging her back instead.

Evans would make a full recovery and had been sleeping now for an entire day. Severus didn't want to think about what would have happened if he'd lost this young man. Once again, Severus had been blind to his own feelings. How could he ever make it up to Evans? The Water of Life was one way, but he had many more years of sins to answer for.

Severus didn't know when Evans had woken up, he'd been so lost in his thoughts, but he felt Evans' eyes on him before he spoke.

"Snape," Harry said weakly, "I'm so sorry. I really made a mess of things. I had no idea that Tom was trying to find immortality. I wouldn't have taken the chances I did if I'd known he was looking for a Potions Mage."

"Evans, it's all right. Everything is fine. No one is going to die. Granger issued a public emergency announcement that there was a problem with the water purification process and that residents should not drink any tap water for the rest of the week. She and Malfoy have added the Water of Life to bottles of water and have been distributing them door to door, and also making it available from all government buildings and medical facilities in the area. The Sudare Potion should die out of the water system soon, if it hasn't already done so; it's meant to work fast, then disappear so it can't be detected. Granger and Malfoy are keeping an eye out for any reports of strange illnesses, but so far, things have been normal. You did really well, Evans."

Evans looked at him in confusion. "But I saw Tom; he spilled the Water of Life onto the ground. There wasn't anything left." Evans sounded in so much pain, but not the physical kind.

Severus looked away. How could he tell Evans that his mother had died needlessly? How could he tell Evans that Severus had had the power to save her, but because of his hurt pride he'd done nothing? So what if Severus hadn't known she was dying at the time. If he'd stood by Lily's side, been there for her and told her that he loved her, she'd be alive today.

Severus stood up and walked over to the window, looking out at the beautifully sunny day. He couldn't lie. Evans deserved the truth, deserved to know why Tom's attempt at hurting Severus had been thwarted.

Turning slowly back to Evans, Severus looked the young man directly in the eyes and announced, "Another Potions Mage made the potion."

Evans gaped at him. " Another Potions Mage? You found another Potions Mage? How? Who?" Evans was incredulous. "Who did you find? Please, tell me!"

Severus' heart skipped a beat; he had to force himself to swallow, willing away the dryness in his mouth so that he could speak.

"Me," Severus said slowly. "I'm a Potions Mage."

After what seemed an eternity, but was only seconds, Evans smiled.

"Oh my gods," Evans said, his joy unmistakable, "I'm not alone! I don't believe it! I'm not alone!"

Scene 8: Epilogue — Nine Months Later

The shower they'd taken this morning wasn't just for getting clean. Snape had tied Harry's wrists to the shower head, then proceeded to torture him senseless, wrapping soapy fingers around Harry's cock, bringing him to the edge of orgasm, and then using that damned Constrictus spell. Within minutes, Snape had Harry crying to be fucked, but Snape had teased Harry for another half-hour before taking pity and finally shoving his cock into Harry's delectable arse.

They were sitting on the sofa now, drinking their coffee, just the same as they always did each weekend Harry spent with Snape. Snape still insisted Harry remain naked, but Harry no longer minded. It was a habit now, that as soon as Harry Apparated into the sitting room, he'd strip off and hand his clothes over to Snape. Harry even looked forward to it when Snape would hold his balls in that possessive 'you're mine' grip. It was one of Snape's ways of saying he cared for Harry.

Snape would never use romantic words, unless 'you're such a pretty little slut' counted as romantic. Harry doubted if he'd ever hear 'I love you' from the man's lips: the handprints on Harry's arse, the love bites on Harry's thighs and neck, the rope burns on Harry's wrists and ankles, the gold and silver rings in Harry's nipples — those were Snape's 'I love yous'. And this would be the last weekend that Harry was a visitor at Spinner's End. Draco and Hermione were getting married next Saturday, so Harry was moving in with Snape. What more could Snape do to show Harry that he cared for him than by having Harry share his home, and his bed, on a permanent basis?

Draco still gave Snape hostile glares, but Draco had told Harry that after witnessing Snape perform the Ritual, Draco couldn't deny his own eyes. He could see Snape loved Harry in his own perverted way, so if Harry was happy, then Draco was happy too. But, Draco had assured Harry, if Harry ever needed to use the Portkey coin, Grimmauld Place would always be open to him. Hermione had simply said that people celebrated their love in different ways, and it wasn't up to her to pass judgment. Snape and Harry were both consenting adults, and as long as what they did was mutually enjoyable, that's all that should count.

Snape and Harry had decided to wait a year before performing the Ritual again, to give themselves time to heal. The last time each of them had performed it had been under less than ideal circumstances, but it also had been the thing that had made Snape admit how much he truly did love Harry. Hermione was talking about opening a Muggle medical practice similar to the one Harry's grandfather had owned; it would provide them with a way to use the Water of Life to help people without drawing attention to themselves.

Tom Riddle's body had been found in Knockturn Alley, three days after he had failed to show up for work. Because foul play was suspected, Snape had been called in to determine how he'd died. Snape thought it fitting that for someone who'd wanted to live forever, the official cause of death was that Tom Riddle had committed suicide by casting the Killing Curse on himself. Everyone knew that Riddle was a strange man, and since Snape was the best Forensics Potions and Spell Specialist in the history of the Auror Department, no one had questioned his ruling.

Draco had not felt comfortable keeping the truth from Lucius, especially since Draco had been the one to cast the Killing Curse on Tom Riddle. Draco, Hermione, and Harry talked it over and had decided that if Lucius felt he had to turn them in, they would abide by his decision. After getting over his initial shock, Lucius told them he was proud of them for not allowing the law to keep them from doing what they felt was morally right. Lucius had thought that by being on the Board, he had been doing his part in helping Muggles. But when he saw the risks the three young adults had taken, Lucius realized he needed to take a more active role in changing the laws that kept the wizarding and Muggle worlds separate. The Malfoy name was already well known and associated with many philanthropic causes, and what better way to effect change than as Minister for Magic. With Bellatrix as his campaign manager, and Draco, Hermione, and Harry at his side, Lucius announced his candidacy.

Aunt Petunia had been horrified to find out the truth about Tom Riddle. She had kept Lily's letter to Snape all these years, and when Harry had come to tell her all that had happened, she'd given him the letter to give to Snape. Petunia added that after her disliking Snape for so long, it would take some time for her to get used to Harry and Snape being involved. However, because she loved Harry, she would do her best to accept Snape into the family, since he obviously meant a lot to Harry.

The months after Tom Riddle's death had been difficult for Snape and Harry. Harry had been ashamed of what Tom had done to him, but after speaking with a counselor at St. Mungo's, Harry understood that he hadn't been to blame. The counselor had encouraged Harry to talk to Snape about it, and Snape, astonishingly, agreed to go into long-term counseling with Harry. That right there was proof for everyone of the value Snape placed on Harry and their future together, one which now looked like it would be a long and happy one.

On September 22, 2006, Harry and Snape performed the Ritual of the Sun and the Moon, together for the first time, in celebration of their love for each other and in honor of the annular eclipse of the sun that occurred that day.

THE END

Don't forget to close this window to go back to vote and review!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Severus Snape and other Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, her lawyers, handlers, editors, personal umbrella carrier, pedicurist, and those guys in the suits from the WB. The Snarry Games and its participants want nothing to do with that lot or their money. Okay, we'd take their money, but they aren't offering. Web space doesn't come for free, ya know?