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Inter Vivos	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 42948 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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Chapter List
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Chapter Five�Fear

�� But
Harry�� Ron�s voice trailed off uncertainly.

�� Harry
closed his eyes and leaned for a moment on the pile of rocks that separated him
from his friend. Ron�s wand had backfired when Lockhart had tried to Obliviate them, Obliviating him instead. Harry couldn�t bring himself to mourn for their
teacher�s lost mind, when it had never been much in the first place.

�� But the
wand had also brought down part of the roof, and now he was trapped on one side
of the rock and rubble pile with Ron and Lockhart on the other side. Lockhart
was giggling and examining his fingers, and Ron didn�t have a wand that would
allow him to lift the rocks. Besides, Harry didn�t think he knew a spell that
would do that.

�� He wanted
to remain here and wait for someone else to help. God, how he wanted that. But
when he opened his eyes and looked at the tunnel ahead of him, he remembered
that Ginny was somewhere at the end of it.

Maybe alive. Maybe not. But he
would never forgive himself if he didn�t at least check.

�� I�ll have
to go on alone, Ron,� he said, as calmly as he could. �You go back and tell the
others what happened.�

�� Harry,
no!�

�� Harry shook
his head. His eyes burned with the remnant of ancient tears. He felt tired, and
old, and very adult. �There�s no other choice, Ron,� he said. �I have to rescue Ginny.�

�� And there
was silence from behind him then, because of course Ron wanted his sister back
alive. Then he swallowed nervously and whispered, �Be careful.�

�� I will.�

�� Harry
traveled on, his lit wand held high before him. When he rounded a corner and
saw stone doors carved with snakes in front of him, he froze and clenched his
fists.

�� But he had
Parseltongue for a reason, he thought. This must be the reason. He stepped
forwards and hissed commandingly at the snakes, and the doors to the Chamber of
Secrets jerked open.

*

�� Severus had
not known what he expected to find at the bottom of the tunnel, but Weasley
sitting hopelessly by a pile of rocks and Lockhart trying to count his toes
were not it.

�� Weasley
leaped to his feet when he saw him, and his face was pale. Severus expected
some childish anger, but instead the boy pelted towards him and grabbed his
robe. Severus stared at him, wondering absently if Weasley had some devilish
poison contained within his fist. It was certainly the first time one of Arthur
and Molly�s children had ever willingly
touched him. Having their ears gripped in his fingers as he dragged them to
detention did not count, as Severus considered that willfulness on his part,
not on theirs.

�� Professor,
P�fessor�� Weasley was gasping, which made his face
turn red and his neck swell out like a bull�s. Severus forbore to interrupt,
though he was sorely tempted to make a comment on the boy�s respect only
appearing when he was out of breath. He looked around, and noticed for the
first time that Potter was not with them.

�� Could he have seen sense and remained above?
Perhaps this is merely Weasley�s Gryffindor heroics, and he forced Lockhart to
help.

�� But Severus
rejected the hypothesis as he remembered the sunken sink. At the least, Weasley
and Lockhart must have used Potter�s Parseltongue to get down here.

�� My wand
brought the roof down!� Weasley burst out. �And Lockhart tried to Obliviate us! And Harry�s gone ahead to the
Chamber of Secrets to face the monster alone! It�s a basilisk!� By now, he was
tugging at Severus�s robes hard enough that one of his feet shifted an inch.
�You�ve got to help him, Professor Snape!�

�� This was
exactly the sort of situation that Severus would have enjoyed turning into
delicate torment ordinarily. A Weasley
asked me for help, he could see himself announcing to his Potions class. Not about Potions, but one can live in hope
that he will eventually advance to that level.

�� With Potter
in danger, however, and thus one half of his new hobby also in danger, Severus
reluctantly had to put aside his fun. He nodded shortly to Weasley and also
left aside the questioning for details he would have liked to do. The general
details were clear.

�� Stand
aside,� he said, and Weasley fell back with gratifying alacrity. Severus strode
forwards and studied the pile of rocks intently for a moment, ignoring
Weasley�s anxious shifting. No doubt he wanted to pass and rescue his friend,
but Severus had to make sure he wouldn�t bring down the roof on their heads by
trying to clear the rubble. That was a Gryffindor trick if there ever was one.

�� The rocks
were balanced on several large chunks of the roof, he saw at once. Most of the
pebbles could be shifted without harm, but if the boulders quivered, cracks
seaming the roof would expand and they could easily be buried. Severus hissed
beneath his breath and began to chant.

�� It would
take several spells to solve this problem: ones that stabilized the rocks, ones
that strengthened the ceiling, and ones that redistributed the stones in
several directions. If he bounced them carelessly, he might bury them even if
the ceiling did not fall.

�� This keeps me from Potter.

�� But
Severus�s long practice in not caring about Potter at all helped him now. It
would do no good to fret and foam at the mouth and stamp like Weasley was
doing. He concentrated his attention on the task in front of him.

�� The sooner
it was done, the sooner he could find Potter.

�� And the
sooner he could craft the most clever insults to tell the boy what a madman and
an idiot he had been, going ahead alone.

*

�� Harry had
never felt as much pain as he did when the basilisk fang went into his arm.

�� The pain
raced through him like poison and destroyed all his gladness in the fact that
he�d managed to kill the basilisk. Riddle was laughing. Ginny was still dying.
And he was going to die.

�� Like poison, Harry thought dreamily. I am poisoned. Well, I reckon the Dursleys will be glad to get rid of me.

�� And I hope that Ron and Hermione are all
right, and that Draco and Professor Snape remember to use that potion on
Seamus, in memory of me.

�� Then his
arm had a warm weight on it. Harry opened his eyes. Fawkes
was sitting near the wound, his head cocked, his eyes intense. Those eyes were
welling with tears, and the tears slowly slid down either side of his beak.
Harry watched, absently fascinated. He supposed dying people could be
fascinated by the strangest things.

�� He did
think it was slightly strange that Fawkes was crying,
whilst he wasn�t. But then, not crying under the pressure of pain was something
he�d learned a long time ago.

�� The tears
landed on Harry�s wound, and a tide of light raced up his arm, following the
tide of pain. Harry gasped in wonder. The puncture slowly began to close, as if
someone were filling the hole in with the blood and flesh he�d lost. Riddle
began to shout something, but Harry wasn�t really paying attention.

�� He was
almost cured, and so his attention had shifted to the basilisk fang lying on
the floor. He grabbed it.

�� It�s a deadly weapon, his mind, still
unhinged by the poison, gabbled. If it
could kill me, then it might be able to kill Riddle. But he�s a ghost, so I
can�t stab him.

�� I can�t stab him.

�� He turned
and drove the fang into the diary. There was a splurting sound, and the diary began to shed ink like blood.

�� Riddle
screamed.

*

�� The scream
sent Severus sprinting up the tunnel and past the carved figures of the snakes
that he ordinarily would have paused to stare at, past the statue of Salazar
Slytherin that dominated the back of the Chamber, past the flagstones and
niches that he would have loved to pause and examine for hidden treasures if he
were in the right mood, if he had time.

�� But that
scream.

�� It was a
cry of ultimate pain and suffering, and in Severus�s mind it was Potter who lay
suffering, though the Weasley girl was perhaps a more viable candidate.

�� But instead
he saw a figure of mist and darkness twisting in the air, the scream coming
from its throat, its fingers extending like claws towards Potter. Potter sat
beside a book on the floor�a book with a fang or a long curved knife buried in
it, of all things�with a phoenix on his shoulder, watching the dissipating
figure with a faint surprised look.

�� Of course it would not be Potter who cried
out, Severus realized slowly. He
didn�t scream when the Bludger broke his arm. I don�t think it�s his way to
make noise when he�s in pain.

�� He turned
to look at the twisting phantom as it spun towards them one final time. And in
the outlines of the cruel, handsome sixteen-year-old�s
face, he saw the familiar mask that made the Dark Mark twinge.

�� I was right, he thought, without joy, as
the face broke apart completely. The Weasley girl gasped and began to breathe
more strongly, her death-pale face taking on a pink tinge.

�� Professor
Snape?�

�� Potter had
finally noticed him, and his face was utterly astonished. He braced one hand on
the Chamber wall and started to struggle to his feet. Severus frowned, knowing
Potter would not understand the real source of the expression. He had thought
he and Potter were comfortable enough around each other now that the boy would
feel no compulsion to face him on his
feet.

�� Where�s
Ron?� Potter demanded.

�� Mr. Weasley
is well, but remained behind on the pain of having his liver liquefied,�
Severus said, without exaggeration. �Tell me what happened here,� he added,
using his wand to conjure a floating cushion for the Weasley girl. Potter, he
saw, had raised himself without help. Good.
Severus was not sure what would happen were he to offer it now.

�� The
Headmaster�s phoenix cocked his head and looked between both of them with
bright, knowing eyes. Severus did his best to ignore the bird. Fawkes had always made him uncomfortable.

�� I came
down after Ginny,� said Potter. �And Tom Riddle�that was his name�said that he
was really Voldemort and he was getting life because Ginny had written to him
in the diary.� He nodded to the destroyed book. Severus cast a subtle spell,
and the remains of the dark purple glow he had seen in Potter�s satchel some
months ago blazed out around the fang. �Then he sent the basilisk after me. But
Fawkes had brought the Sorting Hat, which gave me the
sword. So I managed to kill the basilisk.� Severus looked in the direction of
the giant snake, which he had been avoiding looking at by instinct, and saw the
blade sticking out from the vast open mouth. �But the basilisk bit through my
arm, and I�m only alive because Fawkes cried for me.
So then I thought maybe I could kill Riddle by sticking the fang through the
diary. And I did.�

�� That
account,� Severus said lowly, �contains a number of remarkable compressions
which you will elucidate for me at a later time. But one question remains to be
answered now. Why did you come down
into the Chamber alone, instead of
fetching me or your Head of House?�

�� I didn�t
come down alone,� Potter had the temerity to protest. �Ron and Lockhart were
with me.�

�� Why did
you bring them, and not a competent adult?�
Severus was trying to hold his fury at bay, but it was getting difficult,
especially when he noticed the scar from the basilisk�s fang on the boy�s arm.

�� Because
Lockhart is�was�the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and we thought he
could do something.� Potter absently pushed his hair back from his forehead
with his free hand; Fawkes was still sitting on the
other arm. �We didn�t know he was just a fraud. He�d Memory Charmed all those
people who did the real heroic deeds,
did you know that, Professor?� Potter stared at him with sudden outrage. �So
then he tried to Memory Charm us, too, but he used Ron�s wand, which has been
funny all year, and��

�� And
brought the roof down and made himself into a drooling idiot, yes, I know,�
Severus said impatiently. �That still doesn�t explain your initial decision,
Potter. I am waiting for an
explanation.�

�� Potter
tilted his head to the side and gave him a gaze that was reminiscent of the
phoenix�s. �We tried to talk to Professor McGonagall about the Stone last year,
and she didn�t listen,� he said simply. �She told us to go away and play,
basically. And Dumbledore isn�t here, and you�� He let out a harsh breath. �I
know you�re helping me with the potion, but how was I to know that you�d help
me with Ginny?� His eyes were bright with distrust.

�� Severus
hissed, and let the hiss rattle through his teeth. �I would not refuse to help
her merely because she was a Gryffindor, Potter,� he said. �I did not know how to help her because I did not know where the Chamber was.�

�� Well, I
just figured that out, myself,� Potter said, in the tone of an adolescent who
knows the adults will blame him anyway.

�� You could
have come and told me,� Severus repeated, taking a step forwards and directing
his lighted wand at Potter�s face. �You could have left this entire business up
to me��

�� You
couldn�t have opened the Chamber,� Potter snapped at him. �You�re not a
Parselmouth. And Dumbledore said that he�d never really leave the school as
long as someone here was loyal to him, but I don�t know how loyal you are, and
so you couldn�t have got the Sword, and so you wouldn�t have rescued Ginny, and
so��

�� It would
have worked out differently,� Severus barked. �I would have managed to save
Miss Weasley.� He left out the fact that he really had no notion how to slay a
basilisk; he had managed harder things in his time. �You would not have been wounded and forced into these foolish
�heroics.� Tell me, Potter, do you enjoy them? Is that why you persist in risking your life?� He was proud of the
last words, which he made come out like steam from a teakettle.

�� I couldn�t
trust you!� Potter yelled, not
sounding at all intimidated. At least Severus, from the bitter brilliance in
Potter�s eyes, thought he was seeing some of the anger the boy had held back
all year and not a complete failure of his own techniques. �I didn�t know you�d
manage. I didn�t know if you would manage to get into the Chamber if I�d let
you go down alone. And I didn�t have time
to come and find you even if I wanted to! Ginny was probably dying,
probably dead! No, I don�t enjoy things like this, but I have to do them
because there�s no one else to do
them!�

�� And that, Severus thought, some of his
anger ebbing, is the heart of the
dilemma.

�� Mr.
Potter,� he said, lowering his voice to the same firm but soft tone that had worked
wonders in the past and sinking to one knee in front of the panting, wounded
boy, �I understand you have spent most of your life alone.�

�� The boy
jumped like a scalded cat, and stared at him.

�� But you
are no longer alone,� Severus continued. �I would rather that you come to me
than risk your life. And Draco is bound by the Secrecy Spell. You can trust him
to that extent.�

��

�� I didn�t
want to endanger his life,� Potter said stubbornly, the light glinting off his
glasses, �or force him to choose between his father and me.�

�� Severus
paused, but he had no idea what Potter�s last statement meant. Nor would he
allow it to throw him off, however. �You endangered your own life without
pause,� he said.

�� Mine
doesn�t matter to as many people. I don�t have parents.�

�� Severus�s
breath caught. Potter just kept on looking at him, though, with no sign of how
much he had betrayed.

�� And Severus
would not show, either, what valuable coin he now had to spend, the probable
key to the heart of Harry Potter.

�� Come,� he
said, standing. �We will not finish this conversation in a cold and dank place
when both you and Miss Weasley need medical help.�

�� I�m fine��

�� Severus
bent down so that his face was in Potter�s this time. �Do not tell me that
after you have received a jolt of basilisk venom to your system, Potter.�

�� The boy
scowled and looked mutinous, but came along when Severus began to float Miss
Weasley�s stretcher towards the pile of rubble. Severus looked back at him now
and then, already forming a plan in his head.

�� My amusement will be destroyed if Potter
manages to kill or cripple himself. That cannot happen. And my life may be
endangered as well by his death, if the Dark Lord finds another way to return. And
Draco�s advancement out of his father�s shadow may be stopped or delayed.

�� I may not, perhaps, be able to convince
Potter that his life matters to others if not to him. As he said, he does not
trust me enough.

�� But I know someone who can convince him.

*

�� Harry sat
on a bed in the infirmary, swinging his heels and listening restlessly to the
adults�Madam Pomfrey and the Weasleys�talking in a
corner.

�� He didn�t
need to be here. Things had worked
out. Fawkes had flown him, Snape, Ron, Lockhart, and
Ginny up the pipe. Dumbledore had come back, and he�d said he would explain
some essential things to Harry later, after he saw how insistent Professor
Snape was on dragging Harry away. Ginny�s parents had seen her alive and hugged
Harry, and Mrs. Weasley had kissed him on the cheek, which deeply embarrassed
him.

�� Ginny had
to be in the infirmary, Harry agreed, because she�d been almost drained of life
by Tom Riddle. But he didn�t need to
be. Madam Pomfrey had seated him on a bed anyway,
though, and told him to stay there.

�� Harry shot
a look around the room as he poked at the scar the basilisk fang had left on
his arm. He saw Hermione lying Petrified on the bed across from him and winced.
They were starting to release the people the basilisk had frozen, but it would
be a few hours before they got to Hermione, evidently.

�� He peered
at the adults again and suddenly realized consciously that Professor Snape
wasn�t with them any more. He brightened. That meant he ought to be able to
leave, since both the Weasleys and Madam Pomfrey were
too busy with Ginny right now to remember how much Snape had wanted him to stay
here.

�� He hopped
down from the bed and turned towards the door. Maybe he could go have that talk
with Dumbledore now.

�� And that
was when Snape strode in with Malfoy right behind him, and Harry�s cheerfulness
faltered at the look of outrage on the other boy�s face.

*

�� Draco felt
as though the inside of his mouth was coated with something sticky and
vile-tasting, and he had to resist the urge to spit as he traveled through the
corridors behind Snape. Most of the students they passed took one look at them
and got out of the way immediately. That went some way towards soothing Draco,
but not much.

�� He had trusted Potter. When Potter slipped away
with Weasley near the giant�s hut, Draco had just assumed he was going away to
calm Weasley down. And when Potter told him that there was no progress in the
quest to find the Chamber of Secrets and the monster who was Petrifying
everybody in the past few weeks, Draco had accepted that, too. In fact, he�d
thought that Potter was waiting for Dumbledore to come back.

�� But no. Instead, it turned out that he was
the kind of person who forgot his promises and went on adventures without
people when he�d said they could come along.

�� Draco�s
neck hurt by the time he swept into the hospital wing from the amount of
stiffening it had done. He didn�t care. He was going to do his best to hurt
Potter the way he�d been, and he hoped he would see the shock splayed across
the other boy�s face.

�� His eyes
found Potter at once; he always did seem to know where he was, even in the
Great Hall or another crowded room. He had one foot poised above the floor as
if he intended to sneak out the door. His face was bright red with embarrassment
and guilt.

�� Good.

�� Draco
marched forwards until he was right in front of Potter. He kept his voice low,
because he was vaguely aware that there were other people in the room, and he
didn�t see why they should hear everything that he had to say. �Yes, you were
going to let me have an adventure with you,� he said. �Yes, you trusted me.
Yes, you didn�t think I gave you that information about the girl who died to
try and trick you. Yes, of course you
think we�re friends. Really.�

�� He was too
angry to master the kind of devastating sarcasm that his father would have
employed, but he had the satisfaction of seeing Potter stare at him with a
dropped jaw, his face getting red enough to rival Weasley�s. Draco folded his
arms and stared at him levelly.

�� What do
you have to say for yourself?� His voice was shaking, and when Professor Snape
put a hand on his shoulder, Draco became aware that it had risen. He lowered it
and managed to add a snapping hiss like breaking ice to it, too, which he thought
would make more of an impression on Potter than yelling. Potter only seemed to
get angry when Professor Snape yelled at him. �You�re a true Gryffindor, I
suppose. You can play fair and you�re all noble and shite��

�� Language, Draco,� said Professor Snape
from behind him.

�� Draco
caught his breath and went on without apologizing. He was just too angry to do
that right now. �Until it comes to the point where you can trick a Slytherin.
Then you don�t care, do you? You�ll do everything you can to get away with
tricking one of us.�

�� That had
nothing to do with it at all,� said Potter. He whispered, too, but his eyes
darted away from Draco�s, and his chin shook, and in other ways he didn�t look
as strong. Draco was glad. He wanted to win
an argument with Potter for once. �I just�I didn�t want to put you in
danger. And Ron volunteered to go��

�� Draco
stamped his foot. �I volunteered too, Potter!�

�� Potter
licked his lips, and stared off to the side as if he were wondering about
darting around Draco to the door. But Professor Snape had taken his place at
Draco�s side, one leg stuck out and arms folded across his chest. His
forbidding expression said that Potter was welcome to try to get around him, if he wanted detention for every remaining
evening of the term.

�� Potter
sighed noisily and brought his gaze helplessly back to Draco�s face. �But I was
with him before,� he said. �Last year. I�I do
trust him more. And anyway, you had an adventure when you followed us to
Hagrid�s hut. I thought that was enough for you. An exciting thing happened. We
overheard information they probably didn�t want us to overhear.� He didn�t have
to say that they referred to the
Minister and Father. Draco could hear it in his voice.

�� I want
exciting things to happen to me,� said Draco, �when I�m with you.�

�� Potter�s
mouth fell slowly open again. �I�I didn�t hear that part,� he said weakly. �I
heard �adventure.��

�� I know you
did.� Draco leaned forwards until his nose was a few inches away from Potter�s.
�Next time, listen better.�

��

�But there�s something else, too.�
Potter stiffened his shoulders. �Your father was involved. I didn�t want you to
choose between me and him.�

Draco shuffled his feet. This was a
little harder, but he didn�t have to think that long about his answer, because of
his resentment towards Lucius and what he�d already done. �My father�s keeping
secrets from me. There�s no way he�ll trust me with them, not yet. But you, I had a chance to learn secrets
with, and I wanted to help you.� He let a flash of bitterness show. �Besides,
even if he was involved with taking Dumbledore away from the school, how could
he be involved with what happened in the Chamber of Secrets? Not that I�ll ever
know what really happened there, since you didn�t let me come along.�

�� Potter�s
reaction was not what he expected. He was the one to nearly touch Draco�s nose
with his this time. �Because your father gave Ginny a diary that had Dark magic
in it,� he whispered. �And that diary was what almost killed her and made me
have to kill a basilisk.�

�� Draco barely
heard Professor Snape cast a charm around them that dimmed the sound of the
other people in the room. His mouth had gone dry. �You�re lying,� he whispered.
�You must be lying.�

*

�� That is quite enough dangerous information
being spread freely about, Severus decided, and cast a privacy ward. When
he looked back towards the boys, he half-expected to see Potter looking defiant
and realize he was lying.

�� But Potter
just shook his head, his eyes on Draco�s and his face full of pity. �I�m not,�
he said. �That�s why it�s dangerous for us to be friends, d�you
see? I�d�I�d kind of like to be your friend. Those things you told me about
Potions helped.�

�� I knew he was not improving in my class
through his own efforts alone, Severus thought, relieved to find that part
of the world remained as he had always known it. Or through my own unconscious favoring of him. He shuddered. That
would have been worst.

�� I don�t
care how dangerous it is,� said Draco, and though he was breathing very fast,
his voice had the ring of unconscious truth.

�� I do,�
Harry said.

�� But you do
dangerous things,� Draco countered insistently.

�� Someone
has to do them.� Potter looked as stubborn and unyielding as he had back in the
Chamber, but Draco snapped at him and destroyed that implacable look in a
moment.

�� I want to
do them with you.�

�� Why?�
Potter was almost crossing his eyes with the intensity of his stare at Draco.

�� Because I
do,� Draco said. �Because I want to be your friend.� His breathing had sped up
again. Severus wondered idly if Potter knew that was a sign that this was very
hard for him to admit. �Because someone has to make you consider things that
you don�t consider and Weasley doesn�t know about, and feed you information
that you won�t know about otherwise, either.� He swallowed, his hand trembling
as he raised it to rake through his hair, his eyes lit with a brilliance that
reminded Severus of the way a moth�s wings would flare as it died in a candle.
�Because I�m doing this for myself,� he finished, �and I want to learn not to
be afraid of my father, and braver when I stand up for myself. Someday I�ll have to stand up for myself, because
he�ll want me to do things I don�t want to. This is practice for that day.�

�� Potter�s
eyes became dim in the way that Severus had learned to associate, somewhat to
his surprise, with intense thought. Then he said, �Well. We can try it. I think
I�ll probably get involved in an adventure next year.� He looked at Draco
sharply. �But if you try to hurt or humiliate Ron or Hermione, then I won�t
listen to you anymore.�

�� Draco
nodded his head three times�more than the situation warranted, but Severus
understood his shock. He was shaking still, and he didn�t believe he had got
the chance he wanted.

�� Neither did
Severus, to be quite honest. But he was resigned to not understanding Potter�s
sudden changes of mind, and he was satisfied that Potter would at least take a
little more care with his schemes in the future, if he had to watch out for
someone he didn�t quite trust to take care of himself.

�� And it
would give Severus an excuse to watch Potter more closely, since Potter would
now include one of his best students in his escapades.

�� If that is
settled,� Severus announced, making both boys jump, �the Headmaster wished to
see you in his office, Potter. I am to escort you there.� He looked back at
Draco. �You are to return to the dungeons, Mr. Malfoy. This is one adventure
you will not share with Mr. Potter.�

�� Draco
looked more than happy to nod and depart. Severus suspected he needed time by
himself to think about what had just happened.

�� So did
Potter, for that matter, but he wasn�t about to get it. Still, when they were
halfway to the Headmaster�s office, Potter stopped walking, turned around, and
faced him. Severus looked into his eyes with some distaste and wondered what
incomprehensible request he was to hear this time.

*

�� Harry had
been thinking.

�� He�d been
thinking in a way that was different, and in a way that kind of hurt, but he
had to think that way, because of what Malfoy had said. And then he�d seen Ron,
standing with his family, looking at him every few minutes in concern, and he�d
thought of the way that Mrs. Weasley kissed his cheek and the softness in Mr.
Weasley�s voice when he thanked Harry.

�� Maybe I do have people I matter to. Maybe
they would be sorry to see me dead, and I can�t just leave them behind to
protect them all the time.

�� He really
had thought doing one exciting thing would be enough for Malfoy. But no, when
he said, �I want an adventure with you,� it was the with you part that was really important. Harry didn�t think he knew
why, but maybe he didn�t have to understand just yet. He hadn�t understood
Hermione at first, either. Maybe he had to give Malfoy time and let him make
sense in his own way.

�� Maybe.

�� It was all
very hard, and Harry almost thought he�d change his mind tomorrow. After all,
this friendship he was trying with Malfoy might not work out. But he�d try it,
for the moment. If nothing else, Malfoy would probably change his mind over the
summer, when they wouldn�t see each other for months and when Harry would need
to bury every memory of Hogwarts to survive at the Dursleys�.

�� Still, he
remembered the basilisk, and Fawkes, and the sword,
and the way Snape had looked when he stormed into the Chamber, and he had
decided something. It was all so big.
Bigger than what happened to him. Bigger than what he wanted.

�� Sir,� he
told Snape, who was looking at him as if Harry were a crushed beetle that
wouldn�t stop moving, �I don�t want to use the potion on Seamus.�

�� Snape came
to life in that way Harry had learned to watch for, even though he didn�t move
a muscle. He looked as though lightning had struck him. He stared at Harry and
waited for an answer.

�� Because,�
Harry said, shifting from foot to foot and feeling uncomfortable, �it�s�it�s
going too far. It�s still wrong. And what he did to me was still horrible, I�m
not saying that,� he added quickly, because he thought Snape looked like he was
about to object. �But I�ll make up for it some other way. I want to know where
he got that spell he used to burn the Invisibility Cloak. I was thinking. He
wouldn�t have had time to owl his mum and get the spell after he heard I was a
Parselmouth. He burned my things that same afternoon. So he must have already known
the spell, but why? Why did he have it on hand?�

�� By that
time, Snape�s eyes were narrowed in thought, and Harry narrowly avoided giving
a sigh of relief. He knew that, if he could interest Snape in something else
than Harry�s own reasoning, Snape was more likely to give up the potion.

�� Yes,�
Snape said softly. �That is interesting.�

�� Yeah,�
Harry said. �I want to find out why he knew Dark Arts. That�s better than
humiliating him. And I think he�d still always blame me, even if the potion was undetectable.�

�� Snape bent
down towards him in that unnerving way he had. Harry wished he would stop. He
preferred adults standing tall and talking over his head whilst he got on with
the real business that needed taking care of underneath them. �Very good, Mr.
Potter,� he said in that soft voice that also made Harry uneasy. �Now tell me
the real reason that you are so
interested in giving Mr. Finnigan a second chance.�

�� Harry
swallowed. �It�s so big,� he said,
already knowing he wouldn�t explain his thoughts very well. �Bigger than me.
Bigger than Gryffindor and Slytherin. Bigger than the basilisk, even.� He hoped
that would get a laugh out of Snape, but Snape remained staring at him, grim
and silent. Harry swallowed again and had to lick his lips before he could go
on. �I don�t know everything. I have to give people second chances because
maybe I�ll learn something if I do. And if I gave Malfoy a second chance, then
I think Seamus deserves to have one, too. I�m not going to forgive him, but I�m
going to watch him. I know Ginny had her mind corrupted by the diary, and she
opened the Chamber even though she didn�t mean to. Maybe something like that
happened to Seamus. Dark Arts can affect people like that, can�t they?� He
looked at Snape uncertainly.

�� They can
indeed, Mr. Potter.� Snape slowly stood back upright. �Very well. I will hold
off on use of the potion for now, though I believe you will change your mind,
and so I will not destroy the work we have done. Now, come. The Headmaster is
waiting.� He swept away up the corridor.

�� Harry followed,
rubbing at the scar the basilisk fang had left on his arm. That seemed to him
to have something to do with what he�d told Snape, but once again he didn�t
have the words to figure it out.

*

�� The boy almost died, Severus thought,
his eyes fastened on Potter as the brat sat in the chair before the
Headmaster�s desk and listened to an account of why Dumbledore had managed to
come back to the school�Lucius had blackmailed the governors with threats
against their families to vote Dumbledore out, as Severus had guessed�and why the
phoenix had come to help Potter in the Chamber.

�� He knew he
was brooding. He didn�t care. This deserved to be brooded upon.

�� He could have changed his mind because he
almost died. That has been known to affect people.

�� He could be more affected by the fact that
Draco wants friendship with him than he is letting on.

�� He could be too cowardly to go through with
the use of the potion now that Dumbledore has returned.

�� He could truly have expanded his moral
perceptions the way he claimed.

�� Severus
considered that last the least likely. Still, he had to think about it. That
was one problem with having been a spy: he could see into the heart of things
in so many different directions that it was surprisingly hard to come to a
certainty.

�� and shows
you are a true Gryffindor,� Dumbledore concluded.

�� Severus
frowned and blinked. Perhaps he should have been paying more attention to the
conversation. He could not think of anything that had happened in the Chamber
which would show that Potter was a true Gryffindor.

�� And that seems like the last thing the boy
should be worried about, he thought in disgust, considering the mad way he fought and went off without any support from
anyone.

�� Good,�
Potter said, and lowered his head. His hands were clasped in his lap, twisting
together. �I worried�I mean, I know I convinced the Hat otherwise, but��

�� Because
the Hat wished to put you in Slytherin does not mean you are not loyal to me,�
Dumbledore said gently, �or cowardly, either.�

�� Severus
felt as though someone had replaced his spine with a steel rod for the second
time that night; the first time had been when Potter told him that he wished to
give up his vengeance against Finnigan. He stared. Potter had been a candidate for Slytherin?

�� It gave him
several new perspectives on the situation all at once. It led him to wonder why
he had misjudged Potter so severely as the archetypal Gryffindor. It surprised
him that the boy had been willing to learn from Slytherins at all, if he had an
extra reason to keep from �falling� into that House. It made his friendship
with Draco at once more shocking and potentially more understandable. And it
increased Severus�s interest in the boy.

�� There may be some cunning in him after all,
some traits that I would find valuable, if I could only encourage him to use
it.

�� Yes, sir,�
Potter said, and stood. �Can I go now?�

�� Of
course,� Dumbledore said. �But please do go with Professor Snape as your
escort. I had a rather nasty encounter with Lucius Malfoy earlier. I have
reason to suspect that you would not wish to meet him just now.�

�� Yes, sir,�
Potter said, and followed Severus from the office.

�� As they
rode down the moving staircase, Severus resolved to deal with his confusion at
a later date. He would have the summer to be at a distance from Potter and
consider his perceptions of the boy more objectively. Then he could match those
perceptions against the reality of seeing Potter again in the autumn term.

�� For the
moment, there was something more concrete to be dealt with.

�� You will
return to the infirmary,� he announced when Potter attempted to take a
staircase that led towards Gryffindor
Tower, �so that Madam Pomfrey may check you for the aftereffects of basilisk
venom.�

�� He could
have laughed at the look of disgust the boy gave him, after everything he had
been through. But he did not.

�� Harry
Potter was proving a source of more than common intellectual interest. Severus
wished to keep him as close as possible, as intrigued by his Potions professor
and by Draco as it was possible to push him to be. Otherwise, he could easily
retreat and try to resume the relationship they had had before at the start of
next school year.

�� Almost a Slytherin but mad as a Gryffindor;
unwilling to trust adults but granting some measure of trust to a fellow
student he has reason to hate; sounding moral and damaged at the same time.

�� Yes, Potter
had given him much to think about, and there were few things Severus enjoyed
doing more.

*

�� Thrnbrooke: No. He believed Harry when he said that he wasn�t
making progress on investigating the Chamber.

�� Dezra: Oh, yes, he�s very hurt, and he�ll be cautious when
he gives Harry his own second chance.

�� linagabriev: Harry didn�t think he�d really promised Draco,
either! Or at least he thought he�d kept his promise.

�� Lucius is
extremely unlikely ever to find out about Draco�s letter, so this part probably
isn�t dangerous. On the other hand, future actions may be.

�� Jennie:
Harry is trying his best to make things right, yes. Whether he�ll manage or not�

�� Amethyste: Thank you!

�� Sneakyfox: Thank you very much! I hope you continue to like
Snape�s characterization. At the moment, while he�s very interested in the
things he�s discovering about Harry, academic interest is his main emotion�at least
on the surface. He doesn�t feel much empathy yet, and there are still times
when he expects Harry to act like a normal child. That will take some time to
change.

�� Yeah, the
part where Snape notices the diary is a bit confusing, I think, but part of the
reason I don�t always describe the details in this AU is that I�m staying
fairly close to canon in the first part of the story. So I tend to assume that
the reader will pick up things they remember from the book series, and only
assume something is different if I say it is.

�� Starfig: Thank you! Harry will have plenty of emotions in
the following chapters, but he�s not always very good at articulating them.

�� And yes, I
think I can safely say that this story will have a happy ending.

�� Mangacat: Thank you! As you can see in this chapter, other
people are also starting to wonder about Seamus.

�� Vex: Thank
you!

�� So far,
Snape does not realize that his hobby is becoming so important to him, and he
would probably deny it if someone else mentioned it to him. ;)

�� Inugrl2004:
So does Draco! But he will get a chance to participate in the future.
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Inter Vivos