Harry had spent the remainder of Friday night and the bulk of Saturday in bed with Severus, and he had to admit, he enjoyed watching Severus memorizing his body. He felt as if he was being claimed, and he was not about to object to his lover's mannerisms. Suffice it to say that Severus Snape was a possessive man, and Harry was all too glad to give into his behavior. With his coal-black eyes and lips devouring him for close to forty-eight hours, Harry wondered how he had gone so long without experiencing sex.

Finally stumbling out of bed on Sunday morning, Harry peered over his shoulder as he put on his robe, watching Severus sleeping in his bed. Smiling indulgently, he padded to his bathroom, taking care of his morning routine, before stepping out into the main portion of the flat. Hedwig stared at him inquisitively with her large, yellow eyes, and Harry smirked, summoning some owl treats for her, and she hooted softly, pleased with the scenario presented to her.

Walking into the kitchen, Harry was quick to realize that Dobby had been shopping, and smiled to himself. He prepared some eggs, bacon, and toast to present to Severus, casting a Monitoring Charm upon it when he heard the Floo flaring in the living room. Hoping that it would be a brief conversation, Harry followed the sounds and crouched before the fireplace, raising his eyebrows when he saw Hermione's bushy head within the flames.

"Hey, there, 'Mione," he said, smiling automatically at her. "I thought Sundays were reserved for you dragging Ron to Merlin-knows-where for brunch with your parents."

"This Sunday is their anniversary, so they're out of town until later this evening," Hermione told him patiently. "Actually, Ron was hoping you had a spare moment to talk."

Harry grinned. "It's all right if you want to talk to me, you know. I did warn you about living with Ron, 'Mione."

The witch rolled her eyes. "It's nothing like that," she said, her tone growing slightly impatient as she shook her head at him. "Ron wanted to speak to you, actually," she went on, getting to her feet, and hollered to her boyfriend, before sashaying out of the flames.

"Sorry about that, mate," Ron said, coming into the flames himself, and the pair of them tensed when Hermione slammed a door in the distance.

"Blimey, what've you done now?" Harry asked him.

"Nothing!" Ron said quickly, too quickly, and sighed. "I should tell her first... Anyhow, I've made reservations in Muggle London. Come, will you? Neville, Luna, and Ginny will be there..."

Harry bit his lip. "I'm not sure, Ron," he said, vaguely aware of his loo flushing in the distance, and Ron leaned forward.

"Have someone over, mate?"

Harry opened his mouth. "Actually, I..."

"Harry?" came Severus's voice, and the man stepped into the living room, wearing nothing but his black boxers. He stared into the flames, and tipped his head. "Ah. Ron, how are you?"

"Nice to see you again, Severus," Ron replied affably.

"How is your weekend going?" Severus asked.

"It's... Well, I'm managing," Ron said, appearing uncomfortable. "I was just telling Harry that I'm having a dinner in Muggle London tonight, with our friends, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood..."

"Ah, yes. They are a charming young couple," Severus replied with a nod. "You don't need my permission to go, you know, Harry," Severus told him gently, his fingertips teasing the sensitive skin at his neck. "I should think you'd have a lovely time."

"Severus, I don't think..."

"Actually," Ron interrupted, "I was just telling Harry that he could bring a plus one if he wanted, provided that you don't have any plans, Severus, and would like to join us."

Harry flushed. "Ron," he whined.

"I've no plans this evening," Severus said smoothly, playing with the hairs on the back of Harry's neck, causing Harry to grow hard. "Where are the reservations?"

"Franco's on St. Jermyn," Ron told him, grinning. "Luna recommended it, actually. Our reservation is at seven, under Weasley. We're in the small private room in the back... Hermione's parents actually managed to snag that," he said with a chuckle.

"I know the place," Severus confirmed, guiding Harry to his feet, with a hasty, "I think your bacon is burning," as he turned back to Ron. "We'll be there at the appropriate time."

Harry stumbled into the kitchen, relieved that breakfast hadn't burned, and quickly plated everything up. He vaguely heard Severus say goodbye to Ron as he summoned butter and jam, and placed their plates onto the table. "Want anything particular to drink?" he asked, pouring himself some pumpkin juice.

"Water is fine," Severus told him.

"Flat or sparkling?"

"Is the sparkling lemon-flavored?"

Harry nodded, amazed that Dobby had known to purchase such a thing. "Yes."

"I'll have that, then. Thank you," Severus said, easing into his seat, watching avidly as Harry poured him his drink. "Dinner this evening should prove eventful."

Harry swallowed. "You know, you don't have to go," he said softly, stepping towards the table and handing Severus his drink.

Severus arched an eyebrow. "I believe I was invited. Am I to understand that the invitation was merely a falsehood?"

"No," Harry said quickly, sinking into his chair beside Severus. "No, of course not. I just didn't want you to go if you'd be uncomfortable..."

"Harry," Severus said gently, taking ahold of his hand, "I would not have accepted Ron's invitation if I thought discomfort would be something I would feel."

Harry bit his lip. "All right..."

"Unless, of course, you don't want me there..."

"No!" Harry cried out, clutching at Severus's hand, and silently cursing himself for acting so pathetic and immature. "I want you there, Severus, really..."

Severus smiled at him. "Good," he said, squeezing Harry's hand a final time before turning him loose, and picking up his cutlery. "I look forward to this evening, then."

Harry and Severus Apparated to the pre-arranged coordinates shortly before the reservations' time, and Severus led Harry down the bustling street. The sun was just beginning its slow decent in the late-summer evening sky, and it illuminated the windows in the businesses around them an attractive pink shade. Severus gently moved the pad of his thumb against Harry's knuckles, and Harry immediately began to relax at the movement. They got to the restaurant in good time, and Harry stared at the impressive pillar, the green awning, that massive windows, and the black lettering nailed to the stone above, bearing the name Franco's.

Stepping inside, Severus stepped towards the host, giving the name on the reservation, and an assistant immediately stepped forward to show them to the private room which had been booked for their party that evening. Harry stayed glued to Severus's side, forcing himself not to glare at the fit young man who showed them to the room, due to the fact that he was practically fucking Severus with his eyes. Once they were out of the main dining room, Severus caressed Harry's arse, letting him know that he had picked up on his concerns.

Harry turned, looking up at the man. "Severus?" he whispered.

Severus leaned down and pressed his lips to his temple. "You've nothing to worry about," he assured him, and then they were led into the private room. He let Harry go as his friends got to their feet and surrounded him, hugging taking place from all sides, and Severus even shook the hands he was presented.

"Thanks for coming, mate," Ron whispered to him, setting him into the chair on his other side, with Severus slipping in next to him. Ron looked around the table; Hermione was to his left, with Ginny next to her, and Luna beside her, which left Neville to sit beside Severus, which was good, given that the former was curious to talk to him more about their chosen professions. Ron reached forward, tapping against his champagne flute, knowing that it wouldn't be very smart to use Sonorous in a Muggle establishment. "Everyone," he said, and, once everyone had turned to face him, he took Hermione's hand, which Harry noticed sported an elegant diamond ring, and thought that a cleverly-placed Concealment Charm had previously been at work. "I wanted you all here this evening to give you the good news."

Ginny straightened in her chair. "Ron!" she cried out, clasping her hands together. "Is it true? Is it really true?"

"Yes, it's true," Ron replied patiently, and Hermione blushed becomingly. "I've asked 'Mione to marry me, and she's accepted."

"He was being so distant lately, and then there was suddenly some emergency Auror training last night, days before he was due to begin it properly," Hermione said, shaking her head.

"How did you do it, mate?" Neville asked.

"Well, I told her about the training, and left the bungalow on Saturday bright and early," Ron reported, sitting down beside Hermione at last, never letting go of her hand. "In actuality, I Apparated to the vacation spot her parents were at. Suffice it to say, they were surprised to see me there..."

"Thankfully, they went to my aunt's villa in Italy, so it's private to begin with," Hermione continued, smiling indulgently at Ron.

"I told them how much in love I was with Hermione and that I wanted our future, and the next phase, of our relationship to begin on the right foot," Ron went on. "I asked their permission to propose to Hermione, and her father said that they gave permission to ask, but not to marry her, because the ultimate decision was up to Hermione."

Hermione giggled. "They're terribly modern in that regard."

"So, then I went to Diagon and worked my scheduled shift at the Wheezes; I had to do inventory that night, so I wasn't home until late..."

"Which meant I was already asleep," Hermione told them.

"I slept in later than I usually do, and Hermione wasn't best pleased," Ron said, grinning sheepishly at the company. "After I Floo'd all of you, inviting you to dinner, I asked Hermione to accompany me somewhere important."

"The somewhere important must have been the proposal location," Luna said dreamily.

"That's right," Ron said with a nod. "I took her to Hogwarts..."

"Hogwarts?!" Harry demanded, speaking for the first time. "Headmaster Dumbledore allowed you to do that?"

"Of course; I was a Prefect," Ron said, shaking his head; it was still a sore spot for him, that Harry had held the appointment of Head Boy, despite Ron being a Prefect, but he brushed the thought aside and continued the story. "We took the train to Hogwarts, and I refused to tell Hermione what was going on. Once we got to the station, we walked through Hogsmeade and up onto the grounds, which is when we went inside the castle and into..."

"The library?" Harry guessed.

"Yes," Hermione said, flushing even deeper.

"Madam Pince had already been tipped off," Ron continued, "so she'd made herself scarce, and, since term hasn't begun yet, no students were around." Ron turned to Hermione and smiled at her, lifting her hand and kissing it. "I took her to the Restricted Section, by that beautiful stained glass window..."

"And then he asked me," Hermione said, leaning into Ron's shoulder. "I couldn't believe it. I was so shocked that he'd come up with all of this on his own..." Immediately, she turned to Ginny. "He didn't ask you for help, did he?"

Ginny grinned knowingly. "Of course not," came the assurance. "Just with the ring selection, of course," she told her future sister-in-law. "The rest was all up to him. I told him it would be more special if he planned it himself."

"When did he get the ring, then?" Hermione asked.

"After you'd graduated," Ginny told her.

Hermione turned and faced her fiancé, amusement causing her brown eyes to sparkle. "A fair bit of planning went into this, didn't it?"

Ron immediately flushed to his ears. "Of course it did. After your dad told me how much you loved Chaucer, I was considering reading a work of his for the proposal..."

"And I promptly told my brother that, as much as we love him, it wouldn't endear him to you to butcher a poet you hold so dear," Ginny said, and Ron looked petulantly at her. "Besides, you know your way around the English language at the end of the day. And Hermione wants you, of course—had she wanted a poet, she'd have gone for Anthony Goldstein."

Hermione flushed. "Ginny!" she squeaked.

Ron bit his lip. "There was something between the two of you?"

"Briefly," Hermione admitted, twisting her engagement ring nervously around her finger. "It was when you'd taken up with Lavender. I... I just wanted..."

Ron promptly took Hermione's hand, catching her attention. "Then I've nothing to be upset or jealous about," he told her. "I was a prat then, and didn't notice what was right in front of me, and instead took what was on offer when it was thrown into my face. I'll never forgive myself for that, 'Mione, I won't."

Hermione's lip trembled. "You... You're not angry with me?"

"How could I possibly be angry with you for a relationship I wasn't even aware of, when I was in one myself?" he asked, stroking her hand. "I couldn't; not rationally, anyway." He smiled before he leaned in and brushed her lips with his. "That's over and done with now, now that he's married Susan Bones. You and I have got our whole lives ahead of us."

Harry sighed inwardly, and forced himself to contribute to the conversation when he was asked directly to do so, but remained virtually silent throughout the rest of the meal. He recalled ordering some sort of fish, but couldn't tell you what it was, nor describe the taste. He knew that he had behaved abysmally at dinner, when, as best friend of both the future bride and groom, he should have been hanging on their every word, or, at the very least, been an active member of the conversations.

"You were awfully quiet after dinner," Severus observed, once they'd gone back to his home, Harry's arse delightfully sore from a round of epic sex.

"My screams of your name and begging you to go harder and deeper don't count?" Harry asked with a slight grin.

Severus pursed his lips and shook his head. "I meant before bedroom activities began, Harry. I do hope nothing was said at the meal to upset you."

"I'm not upset," Harry said quickly, too quickly, and he felt Severus's eyes upon him then as he sat up, pulling his legs towards his chest and resting his cheek upon them.

"Harry," Severus said gently, moving his hand forwards to draw circles upon the small of his back, "I would like to know what is bothering you, please."

Harry swallowed, not altogether sure how he should go about answering his lover, given that they were exclusive, in that they didn't sleep with anyone else, and would willingly be seen in public at important events together, but... But, it wasn't as if this was a proper relationship, like Ron and Hermione, or Neville and Luna, had... No, it was purely physical, and Severus reminded him of this often enough, so much so that Harry had mastered his ultimate poker face, never letting on how much it hurt to be retold of the very fact he'd agreed to.

"Harry."

Harry raised his head then, looking at the front wall of Severus's bedroom; perhaps it would be simpler to answer the question if he didn't look at him. "Ron's proposal... I don't know. To be honest, it caught me off-guard a bit."

"You were unaware that the two of them were headed in that direction?"

"No, I realized it," Harry confirmed. "I even went to look at rings with Ron once, and Hermione certainly hinted at wanting to be engaged once we were in university..."

"But?"

"But it's not going to be the same anymore," Harry said quietly. "We're not going to be those young kids at Hogwarts again..."

"You knew that growing up was going to happen, Harry."

Harry swallowed. "Yes, I know," he admitted. "I suppose I just thought that I'd be doing these things with them. Well, not with them-with them, but..."

"You mean marriage," Severus said softly, his fingers ceasing their movement, as he contemplated Harry's profile in the darkness of his bedroom. "You mean that you thought you would one day be married yourself."

"I suppose so, yes," Harry told him, gripping his legs, waiting for the rejection that he knew was just around the corner. "How about you?"

"What about me?"

Harry peeked over his shoulder at the man; he gritted his teeth, not wanting to cry in front of him, not wanting to be seen as weak. "Do you ever see yourself getting married?" he asked in a rush, not wanting his Gryffindor courage to fail him now.

"I don't," Severus told him honestly, and Harry hated himself for allowing the hope bubble through him as he awaited the answer. "I certainly don't fault others who wish to make such a commitment. It is not that I don't believe in marriage in general..."

"You just don't believe in it for yourself," Harry said quietly.

"Precisely," Severus intoned. "I never believed it was the right path for me. I do not believe, however, in celibacy, which is why, whenever I take a man into my bed, I am always honest about my intentions, so as not to get any wires crossed."

Harry forced a smile onto his lips. "Yes, of course," he said.

Severus gave a nod. "Come, Harry. Lie beside me and get some rest."

Harry nodded, facing away from the man and allowing him to pull him into his arms. Still gritting his teeth, Harry could not stop the tears which fell down his cheeks, and hoped that Severus did not sense his sadness. After all, this was never going to be a permanent arrangement, right? Severus would one day find someone far better than him—more experience, but with less emotions—so as the person in question wouldn't...

Mentally, Harry shook himself. He had known what he was getting into when he agreed to be taken into Severus's bed. Although it hurt, he had not been walking blind when he had agreed to such an agreement. As his heart broke, he heard the even breaths of the man behind him, and wondered, not for the first time, if the man ever thought of him in his dreams, and about keeping him in his life forever.

~*~

Harry was awoken early the following morning, and was subsequently pinned beneath the lean form of one Severus Snape. Smirking up at his older lover, Harry wrapped his arms around the man's neck, determined to forget what had happened the evening before. "And do you have plans for me, Master Snape?" he asked coquettishly.

"Indeed, Mr. Potter," he responded. "Indeed I do."

Harry spread his legs as Severus teased his already-erect nipples with his precise fingers, and bit his tongue as one hand snaked lower, massaging his entrance. "Don't tease me, Severus," he whispered, emerald eyes locking with onyx.

"I fully intend to tease you as much as I like," Severus declared, lowering his head and casually nipping at one of Harry's earlobes, directly causing Harry to arch up against him. "I've already begun down this path, Harry, and I intend to see it through."

Harry rolled his eyes when he thought Severus wasn't looking, which earned him a hard slap on his arse. "Hey!" he cried.

"I've told you not to roll your eyes at me," Severus uttered softly. "If we didn't have further plans today, then your punishment would be worse." Severus continued in his ministrations, summoning the lube wandlessly and wordlessly, and subsequently began rubbing Harry's entrance, so much so that the younger man below him mewled in his ear.

"Please," Harry begged, arching closer.

"Stay still," Severus ordered, his tone firm, and Harry did his best to mold himself to the soft mattress beneath him. "Better," the potions master said, a small smile upon his lips. He gently eased Harry's arse open—which it still slightly was from the rough pounding the night before—and soon it was ready for his engorged cock. "Ready for me, Harry?"

Harry nodded, biting his lip; he was more than ready for the stretch and slight burn, which he had been growing used to the past several weeks. "Yes," he breathed. "I'm ready, Severus."

Severus's eyes never drifted from Harry's as he eased himself inside, permitting Harry a grace period of adjusting around his massive girth. Once he felt Harry's velvet walls easing up around him, did he cant his hips forward, brushing Harry's prostate with the head of his cock. "Do you like that, Harry?" Severus asked, in answer to a groan below him.

"Yes," Harry whispered, "so much..."

Severus smiled. "I'm glad," he replied.

Severus got to work in earnest then, pounding Harry into the mattress, cursing when Harry's legs went around his torso, and his heels dug into his own arse. He tucked his head into the younger man's neck, permitting himself to inhale the sweet scent of sweat and sex. There had been no one like Harry in all the years he had configured arrangements like this, and while that thought truly frightened him, what frightened him more was the notion that Harry would one day, inevitably, seek comfort elsewhere...

"Severus," Harry groaned beneath him. "Fuck..."

Severus yanked himself backwards from the comfort of Harry's embrace, before grabbing ahold of his hips and pounded into him unmercifully. The moans from underneath him indicated that he was getting somewhere, and so he sped up his thrusts. Smirking, Severus continued, moving his hand in between them to snag Harry's own erect cock in his firm grip, pumping him in time to his own thrusts.

"Come for me, Harry," he commanded.

Harry let out a pleasurable scream then, arching his back and pushing his cock even further into Severus's sure grip. His screams turned into gasps as he squirted semen into his lover's hand, and stared up at him, almost as if he was still shocked that the man could still elicit such a vocal and physical reaction from him. "Severus," he breathed, the minx within him coming out to play, as he squeezed his inner walls around the older man.

"Fuck," Severus hissed through his teeth, his hands leaving Harry's hips and flattening themselves onto the mattress beneath him. "Oh, fuck, Harry..."

"Yes," Harry whispered back, loving seeing the man so unguarded like this.

Severus grunted then, spilling his release inside Harry, before pulling himself out and falling onto the mattress beside him. After a quick Cleaning Charm, he automatically pulled Harry into his arms. "You never cease to amaze me."

"Really?" Harry asked, leaning into the man's side and propping himself up on his elbow. "And how is that?"

"Each time with you is different, yet in no way less satisfying," Severus said honestly, although he was staring at the ceiling when he answered the question.

Harry smiled, taking what he could get, and leaned down, brushing his lips onto the man's sculpted shoulder. "I am to please," he replied with a shrug.

"Yes, I'm sure you do," Severus said, squeezing Harry's arse possessively for a moment, before letting him go and slipping out of bed. "I'll instruct Orlee to make us a light breakfast while you shower first."

Harry pushed himself up in the bed. "Oh. Do you need me to get out of your hair?" he asked, hating that the air of disappointment leaked into his tone.

"No," Severus said, putting on his dressing gown, before turning to Harry and giving him a small smile. "We'll be going out within the hour is all. Do your trainers work well for walking?" he asked, and Harry wondered why the man seemed curious about his feet.

"Uh, I suppose so," Harry said.

Severus smirked. "I've never ascribed to be a foot fetishist, Harry, nor do I ever see myself doing so," he told him, pressing a kiss onto his temple. "Get into the shower and do it quickly. We'll never leave the house if I find you in there," he said, smiling hungrily at him before he slipped from the master bedroom.

With both of their showers taken care of, Harry and Severus dined on grilled vegetable frittatas and a platter of fruit before they left the house. Severus took him to the Apparition point he had established in his lavish gardens, and the pair of them popped away. They dropped back into view in a rather sad terraced house area, and the scent of polluted water made Harry want to bring the neck of his jumper towards his nose. Doing his best not to cough, he permitted Severus to lead him from the alley, where they saw the other bricked houses, a mill in the distance which appeared abandoned, and the foul-smelling river.

"Where are we?" Harry asked softly as they walked along.

"Spinner's End," Severus responded, and Harry recalled the name from somewhere, although he couldn't readily place it. "This is where I grew up."

Harry swallowed, knowing that Severus's formative years, and his Hogwarts ones, had shaped in this sad-looking place. It is no wonder he thought Slughorn appeared to be a comfort, he thought darkly to himself, although it pained him to think it. "Which house was yours?" he asked instead, his tone gentle.

Severus gave him a bitter smile and gestured with his head, indicating that Harry should follow him down the road of one street of the terraced homes. Severus kept on walking, his face set in a neutral expression, although it was his eyes which told a different story. He finally came to a stop at the end of one row of houses, and Harry made sure not to inadvertently plow into him from behind. Severus nodded his head towards a dilapidated looking house; the roof was slightly caved in on one side, and the massive bay window in front was smashed, and haphazardly covered with a water-damaged piece of wood.

"Oh, Severus," Harry whispered.

"Other than my summers and Christmas holidays until I was seventeen, I was here," he said quietly, the bitter smile returning. "Albus wouldn't hear of a child remaining at Hogwarts if they had a home to go to. Although," he said, turning away from the house and continuing to walk down the street, "the term 'home' is used loosely here."

"Siris's name wasn't cleared in time to save me from my aunt and uncle," Harry said softly as they walked along the rain-soaked and cracked sidewalk. "When I got to Hogwarts, I was malnourished and abused. Headmaster Dumbledore was shocked at the brutality I'd faced by the age of eleven that he had Molly and Arthur foster me. Sirius was always my parents' first choice for a guardian, as my godfather, but, with his incarceration, it rendered him ineligible to care for a child."

"Naturally," Severus responded, and Harry was relieved to hear no animosity in his tone. "And what of Remus Lupin?"

"Remus was broke, due to the fact that the Werewolf Reformations hadn't even been brought to the Wizengamot's attention," Harry said bitterly. "His mother cared for him, but his father ordered him out of the house; he hated werewolves, and never accepted the fact that it was his words and beliefs that got his own son bitten in the first place..." Harry sighed. "I became friends with Ron immediately and, by Christmas, Molly and Arthur had welcomed me into their home, and they managed to get custody of me rather quickly. I'll be forever grateful to Amelia Bones for pushing the paperwork through..."

"Yes, she is a worthy advocate to have," Severus acknowledged, and they turned onto another main street. He kept walking, remaining silent, and Harry relished in the quiet, until they came to a clear pond, and a forest surrounding it, a few moments later. "It's beautiful here," he said quietly, looking around and becoming accustomed to his surroundings.

"Yes, isn't it just?" Severus asked, walking over the stone bridge, Harry behind him, and moved towards the grass on the banks of the pond, just beyond the forest. Looking around, he cast a Drying Charm onto the grass, large enough for himself and for Harry, and sat, sighing when Harry sat beside him. "It is here that I met your mother."

Harry, who had sat down beside the man, immediately turned to face him. "Here?" he whispered, amazed that Severus brought him.

Severus nodded. "Yes." He looked around Harry then, and pointed to a massive tree, separate from the forest behind them, on a small hill above the pond. "I was hiding behind that tree, and watched Lily, and her sister, Petunia, played. Things turned sour when Lily caused a flower to bloom in her very hand, and Petunia called her a..."

"Freak," Harry whispered, shuddering from beside Severus, and the older man turned to look over at him. "Believe me, I've been on the receiving end of her insult of choice more than once during my childhood."

Severus reached between them and squeezed Harry's hand. "If it is too difficult for you to hear about it..."

"No," Harry said quickly, locking eyes with Severus. "Please. I want to know. Aunt Petunia never said anything good about her, the Weasleys weren't very familiar with them, and Sirius and Remus always talked about my father. Please. I don't know much about my mother, and even though it is difficult, I still want to hear about her."

Severus smiled. "Very well," he said, turning back towards the tree. "I stepped out from behind the tree, while all the while Petunia was whinging about telling their mother, but ran off the moment she spotted me. I charmed a blade of grass to fly towards her, and Lily was my friend from that moment on. She would never have me say anything bad abou Petunia, no matter what she had previously said about her or what we were..."

Harry smiled softly then. "She was kind. I knew that much..."

"She was very kind," Severus told him. "Our first falling out took place within those trees," he went on, getting to his feet, and Harry scampered after him. "We would frequently meet here, because most of the adults who could typically see us would be at work." Severus stepped into the first cluster of trees, waiting for Harry to follow him before he stepped further inside. Once he did so, they walked in silence until they got to the first clearing, where Severus stopped walking, as did Harry. "I taught Lily about control, and showed her how to levitate various objects, seemingly hidden from the outside world."

Harry stared into the clearing, imagining his mother and Severus sitting there together, talking about attending Hogwarts together, and dreams that they hoped to achieve. "What happened here, Severus?" he whispered.

"Petunia arrived unexpectedly; she was always spying on us in one form or another. I was levitating a tree limb at the time," Severus said quietly.

"When you accidentally dropped it onto her head," said Harry softly, remembering Severus telling him the tale.

"Yes," Severus said softly. "Lily didn't speak to me for weeks afterwards, and I thought it had been solved by the time we got onto the Hogwarts Express..."

"Remus and Sirius said they met Mum with Dad then..."

"They did," Severus responded. "The rivalry began then. I selfishly wanted Lily in Slytherin with me, but she was much better-suited to Gryffindor, I see that now..."

"It's all right," Harry whispered. "You don't have to tell me anymore..."

Severus sighed, reaching out for Harry, and Apparated them away. They arrived in an alley in the center of a small town, and, as they walked out, Severus pointed to the dainty little cottages at the end of the lane. "That pale pink one there, with the brown shutters," Severus said, and Harry followed his gaze. "That was your mother's house."

A white building just across the way caught Harry's eye. It was well after-lunch now, and Harry gently pulled Severus towards the building that declared it The Royal Oak. Once inside and sitting down, Severus ordered a leek and mushroom pie and mash meal with a glass of reserve white wine. Harry opted for a cider, with a cheese and tomato toastie, and warmed his hands up beneath his jeans-clad legs.

"Are you upset with me?"

"For what?" Harry asked, looking across the table at the man. "What have you done to me that could possibly make me upset with you?"

Severus sighed, thanking the waiter when their wine and cider were brought. "I suppose I haven't done anything directly to you," he said quietly. "I just wanted to make sure that you were all right with the events of the day."

Harry swirled his cider within its glass in contemplation. "I guess I just didn't want you to be upset from your recollections," he confessed.

Severus blinked. "Meaning?"

"Meaning that I didn't want today's experience to prove too much for you." Harry bit at his tongue, considering. "Look, I know that rehashing certain events from one's past can be pretty difficult sometimes. I'm no psychiatrist, but I do know a thing or two about having a rough childhood. Don't doubt me when I say that I understand at least some of what you feel, Severus, because it's true."

Severus lowered his eyes to the wood grain of the table. "Yes, I suppose that's true..." He broke off, tasting his wine, and nodding in approval at his selection. "Well, I hope that today's outing was all right with you."

"Of course it was," Harry assured him. "As I said, I don't know much about my mum. It's always nice to hear about her, no matter how little information it is."

"She was fond of Care of Magical Creatures. She couldn't stop talking about the bloody unicorn lesson for weeks," Severus said, smiling down at the surface of the table. "She never liked butterbeer, and it was because of her that Madam Rosmerta sold hot chocolate at The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade; she turned so many people on to the drink..." He hesitated, a frown developing onto his face. "Many people think that our falling out in fifth-year, when I called her that despicable word, caused our friendship to end, but..."

"What, Severus?" Harry asked. "Please. Tell me."

"Lily was Horace's favorite student," Severus went on, and Harry gripped onto his glass of cider at the direct mention of his former potion's professor. "She was the only one he trusted in his private lab unsupervised..."

"Slughorn... He didn't...?"

"No, Harry. Horace never sought a companion of the fairer sex," Severus told him. "Anyhow, it was a shock to me when Lily told Horace that I should use his private lab as well. Our relationship had already begun, so he naturally agreed. We talked, and for the next several weeks, things were looking up..."

"Until?" Harry asked.

"Until James got it into his head that Lily and I were, once again, too close," he said bitterly. "I never acted like Lily was anything but a friend to me, but James was insistent that I was after Lily romantically."

"What did you do?"

"What could I do? I couldn't go to Lily—she was tired of hearing James's ridiculous stories, as she called them. I couldn't go to Albus, because it was a trivial thing, and he would never discipline the Marauder's. So, I went to speak with Horace, and he assured me that all would work itself out... Then he convinced me to bend over his desk for him. Sirius had detention that night and spotted us, so when I saw him alone again, I threatened to hex him with one of my personally patented hexes in order to keep his mouth shut."

"That's why he lured you into the Shrieking Shack," Harry whispered, suddenly figuring out the entire story.

"Yes," Severus responded. "He tipped off James beforehand, so tha he could 'see the show', as it were... James, finally realizing that I didn't have designs on Lily, saved me. In exchange, he told me to stay away from her, and I agreed."

"Did Mum ever find out?"

"Yes," Severus said. "Shortly before graduation, when I was relaxing after my final NEWTs examination, she confronted me about it. She told me that she would go to the Board of Governors if I refused to break it off, to find out if I'd cheated at potions. She also said that she would go to the Wizengamot about Horace's behavior. I told her that it didn't happen until I was sixteen, and she agreed to not speak of it again, on the condition that I ended things with Horace once and for all."

"And did you?"

"Yes," Severus responded. "He was never the same after that around me. He flew into a rage initially when I ended things, and Steora always told me when he took things too far in a disciplinary sort of way..." He shook his head.

"How wasn't he the same?" Harry asked.

"He's distant... Professional, to be sure. But there was never that trademark warmth within him whenever I spoke to him anymore."

Harry gritted his teeth. "Well, I'm just glad you got out of his clutches."

Severus smiled. "Yes. It all worked out, didn't it?"

Harry forced a smile onto his face. "It did, didn't it?"

Harry kept his mouth shut until their lunch was over, and then Severus left to cultivate some ingredients at the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. Harry Apparated back to his flat, his mind going a mile a minute. After routinely greeting Hedwig, he made his way over to his Floo, and knelt before it.

"Granger-Weasley flat," he said, and stepped right through.

"Harry!" Hermione cried out, dashing towards him, and smoothing the soot from his clothing with a smile on her face. "We weren't expecting you..."

"Ron's here?"

"Oh, no. He's at the shop today," she said quickly, picking up Crookshanks in her arms. "Is anything the matter? Are you all right? Are things with Severus all right?"

"I'm fine," Harry told her. "It's just... I don't know. Something Severus said at lunch today got me thinking..."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Hermione asked.

Harry sighed. "I mentioned Steora to you..."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, of course. Anyone who is a member of Severus's family is likely to have a fine mind," she told him with a smile.

Harry bit his lip, pacing the floor. "Of course she does. She's an Auror, and good friends with Tonks. She was a Ravenclaw, did you know that?"

Hermione blinked. "No, I didn't. I'm just relieved that the rest of the Prince family wasn't alive to see that."

Harry swiveled around to face her. "What do you mean?"

"Just that families like the Prince family have traditional values. Severus's mother was a Slytherin, and so was he. It's only natural that Steora could have been seen as lacking in some way for not falling in line during her sorting..."

"And not in other ways either, apparently," Harry said, dragging his hands through his hair in a moment of fear.

"Harry," Hermione said softly, letting Crookshanks go and sitting slowly upon her couch. "Tell me what's going on."

Harry sat down beside her. "Steora was cursed when she was just a baby," he told her.

Hermione's hands went to her lips. "Oh, Merlin, no!" she whispered.

"Steora was born just before Severus was due to graduate from Hogwarts," he went on. "It was just before graduation that he broke things off with Slughorn."

Hermione lowered her hands. "Harry, what are you saying right now?"

"I'm saying that, although Severus's potions are amazing, they can't possibly be a permanent solution," Harry told her.

"There's more, isn't there?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. "Yes. I think Slughorn was the one who cursed Steora, for revenge against Severus for leaving him."

"But actually cursing his sister..."

"He was a friend of the family, Hermione. He had motive and opportunity..."

"But Steora was an innocent!" she cried out. "What could Horace Slughorn possibly gain from cursing a defenseless baby?"

Harry's eyes locked with Hermione's. "The same thing that Tom Riddle did when he cursed me, Hermione. Power."

Hermione shook her head. "Merlin," she whispered, staring at the floor.

Harry reached out and took her hand. "Hermione, I need your help."

Hermione bit her lip, nodding her head as she slowly looked up at Harry. "Yes, you do," she said softly, her voice filled with determination.

Harry smiled, relieved to have her on his side. "Where do we start?" he asked.

Hermione straightened up then, knowing exactly what to do. "We need access to the Restricted Section in the Hogwarts Library," she told him.