Harry Potter 1. Intro

A/N: I realize that I clearly stated in my profile that my multi-chap fics would be posted when they were fully finished, but it was recently suggested to me that you people might be able to encourage and inspire me to write more quickly, given the large amount of time I could be, but am not, dedicating to my writing. I'm aware that this chapter is short, and you'll have to forgive that, but it's just an intro. The chapters following this will be longer, and I'll be nice and offer up the actual first chapter soon without begging for reviews.

_Albus Dumbledore was dead and Hogwarts was a pile of rubble. Somehow, Snape had been found out as a spy, and Voldemort had used his blood to regenerate a body for himself after everyone had left in Sixth Year. Sirius was also missing, assumed compromised and dead. _

_In the middle of that Summer, in his attempt to give Harry a chance to survive, Albus Dumbledore had faced off against Voldemort in a duel, and had died. With his death, though, he had managed to severely injure Voldemort, and in the months of the Dark Lord's recovery, McGonagall had ordered a mass removal of current and future students to other countries, to continue, or begin, their educations under the secreted guidance of English-speaking instructors from other Wizarding schools. Deciding his mere presence among the other students would endanger their lives, Harry had escaped into the Muggle World with Ron and Hermione with the help of a very secretive, Wizard-run Muggle bank that transferred wizard money into its equivalent Muggle currency (a substantial amount for even the poorest of wizards). The Golden Trio had been hidden for a week, receiving covert packages filled with study material from McGonagall and the other surviving Hogwarts Professors, when Ginny and Neville had shown up in the Hotel's lobby, with Remus, Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt. For hours they argued (mostly concerned over the need for the adults in the Wizarding World, rather than teaching schoolchildren who could handle themselves), and when everything had been settled they decided to purchase a country home with some of their cash supply as a base. As the children began learning, with Harry and Hermione in charge of Remus' Wolfsbane being the only ones capable of the brewing, they also set forth their rebellion. Randomly, and with surprising ease, the 5 wizards-in-training, under the guidance of their instructors, began appearing wherever they heard tell of Death Eaters, usually in the out-lying villages of England and Wales when the chances for a large outfit were small, and used the unsuspecting followers as target practice for their school subjects._

_One Year Later…_

"We passed! We're full-fledged wizards now!"

Ron, Ginny, and Neville came running excitedly from the hut where a Ministry worker had taken refuge to perform secret NEWT and apparition testing for the hundreds of rebellion sects popping up all over Europe. Harry and Hermione had passed a few months before, testing their NEWTs and earning apparition licenses. Neville had passed his NEWTs with them, but hadn't yet been confident enough to attempt the apparition test.

Harry and Hermione waited, grinning, by the dilapidated statue in the abandoned, weed-strewn parking lot. Remus stood a few feet away, still suffering from the recent Full Moon, and Tonks exited the rundown shack with Kingsley at a much calmer pace. Suddenly, several loud cracks echoed in succession around them.

"We're so proud of you," A sneering cackle resounded as Bellatrix Lestrange appeared between the two groups of children, and Death Eaters quickly surrounded the clearing. She smiled at Harry creepily. "You and your group of misfits has become quite the thorn in my master's side with your little field trips." She hissed and turned around just as Neville and Ginny were trying to drag a frozen Ron back towards the ex-aurors behind them. She studied the redhead boy with thinly veiled malice. "Bow to me boy, and I may bring you to my master _whole, _unlike like your friends and pretty little sister."

That seemed to startle Ron from his frozen state and his face morphed into something wholly vicious. "You stay the hell away from my sister, you bitch, or I'll rip into you with your own knives," He snarled. He cast a quick, wandless stupefy at the cruel woman.

Taken by surprise, Lestrange lunged to dodge the curse, landing hard on the ground. She looked up at him and screamed in frustration. "Kill them all, get Potter!" She screeched.

The Death Eaters surrounding the lot began casting wildly, and Harry cast a quick encompassing shield around Remus, Hermione, and himself, leading them towards the rest of the group. They hurried to the aid of Ginny and Neville, fighting off the encroaching circle of enemies as Ron battled Lestrange.

"We can't apparate, they could follow our trail, and I don't want to risk getting separated by trying to lose their trail. We'll have to use the portkey," Tonks said as four of the nine Death Eaters were incapacitated.

"Ron, we have to get out of here!" Hermione screamed as Harry's shield started to weaken and a hasty spell from Kingsley kept it up against a new barrage of spells.

The boy roared in frustration as Lestrange countered his every offense, and cast a wandless cutting hex simultaneously with a gouging curse. The cutting hex was rebounded by her shield, but the gouging curse was stronger, being fired from his wand, and sliced through the weakening shield, tearing a massive amount of flesh and muscle from the witch's thigh and sending her back to the asphalt. Smirking at her smugly as Lestrange's blood soaked the tar and weeds around her, Ron turned on his heel and ran towards the group.

Hermione and Ginny screamed as blood spattered the group, and Harry turned from where he'd just disarmed one of the masked attackers to see Ron falling forward onto the pavement, a knife lodged in his throat. The boy savior looked to Lestrange, who was cackling wildly as a Death Eater rushed to her side to try and heal her wound.

"No!" He screamed, his voice filled with pain and anger. His eyes glowed green as a bright red light exploded in the clearing, centered around Harry's shield, then disappeared as quickly to show their assailants lying prone around them. He ran to his friend's side. "Ron, get up!" Harry shouted, shaking the stilled redhead. He rolled the larger body over to see blue eyes staring back, unseeing. The young wizard released a howl of pain as he searched hopelessly for a pulse, and pulled his oldest friend into his arms. He didn't feel it as the wind whipped violently through the space and the ground rumbled threateningly beneath them.


	2. House Elf Rebellion

The smell of rancid, decaying flesh permeated from behind the yellowed fangs. The texture of the brick at his back dug sharply into Harry's skin, as he looked desperately for an escape in the narrow dead-end. Moony snapped at him teasingly as the wolf creeped ever closer to the terrified savior.

Harry couldn't believe how stupid he and Hermione had been to put off finding the ingredients for the Wolfsbane, and looked up at the full moon that seemed to taunt him from it's place in the sky. A blue moon had been the last thing anyone had expected, and Harry regretted more than ever not keeping track of the days, instead of merely expecting it would turn at the start of the next month. An abrupt, practiced howl ruptured the still and terrible silence of the night just as Lupin's claws clicked exceptionally close, grabbing the wolf's attention abruptly. A second howl rent the air just as the wolf turned back to his prey, followed by a third, and Lupin ambled to the mouth of the alleyway, loosing a sad, keening wail in response before taking off in the direction of the other supposed werewolves.

Harry took a deep breath in relief and slid down the wall as his body trembled from the adrenaline. Luckily, they were in an abandoned township, one of many peppering England as the residents relocated to other countries, some even to other continents, and Lupin didn't pose a serious threat to anyone besides them. They had come because they'd heard whispers of a rebellion uprising in the area, but the rumors had resolved into little more than hastily freed House Elves, angry with Voldemort for making their master's too scared to keep them. After a few hours of arguing, they had sent the elves to McGonagall to help with the students around the world, and their families. They'd decided to stay the night, and search the area more thoroughly tomorrow, but that was when everything had gone to hell and Remus had transformed into the beast currently racing across the rooftops towards the surrounding forest.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Tonks came into the alley, followed by Kingsley, Neville, and Ginny.

The young wizard looked up and grinned reassuringly. "Yeah, thanks to 'Mione. Thank Merlin she's a wolf animagus. But where did that first howl come from?"

Kingsley helped the Gryffindor to his feet. "We're not sure. Hermione heard it and took off in that direction, since it was obviously human. She didn't want whoever it was to face Lupin alone."

Harry brushed off his trousers, grimacing as he swiped over the shallow cut in his leg. He'd gotten it racing through the forest, after he'd pulled Remus off Ginny and Neville's scent. He let the others lead him, limping, out of the pinched passageway. "Well, let's hope they stay alive long enough for me to thank them. They must have seen me from the cliffs when I ran through the town square. At least, I think that's the direction the howl came from."

"It was," Came the soft, smoky voice just behind the injured Wizarding Hero.

Harry gasped and stilled as tears sprung immediately to his eyes. The others froze with shock as he turned to face the source of the voice. "You…" He stared hopelessly at the phantom before him for a full minute before his legs gave out and he kneeled on the cobblestones, grasping at the pale, calloused hand that reached out to hold him upright. The astonished young man put his forehead to the cold knuckles as both hands gripped helplessly at the clammy fingers, tears running freely from his eyes. "But you're dead. I killed you…"

The cloaked apparition knelt before him and pulled him into a loose hug, his very real heart thundering against Harry's cheek. "Don't be foolish. If I _had_ died that night, it would've been no more your fault than my own. I'm as alive as anyone has a right to be, believe me."

Harry looked up into the coal black eyes he had dreamed of so often since Voldemort's rise. "But it was his connection to me that exposed your true loyalties. If I had just occluded like you told me, none of this ever would have happened. I was too proud, I thought I was helping by gathering information. I was as selfish as you always accused me of being…I'm so sorry…"

Snape gently brushed away Harry's tears with his thumb, even as more fell. "Stupid boy, you were not at fault. You can't blame yourself for every bad thing that happens. By standards, you were occluded as best you could be. The Dark Lord learned my loyalties from another source, and at his own admission, the majority of your mind was blocked off to him. I am alive _because_ of you, Potter."

Harry sniffed and wiped at his eyes. "How? I couldn't get there…I tried, but when I finally arrived the graveyard had been destroyed…you with it, I thought."

Snape shook his head and helped the boy to stand. "I think that explanation is best left for tomorrow. Right now, there is a raving werewolf lose on the countryside, and not all of the residents in the surrounding hills have left. I expect you had a plan in case something like this happened?"

The boy savior cleared his throat and took a step back, nodding. "Yeah…" He looked at his companions, who were still staring speechlessly at Severus. "Tonks, Kingsley, take Ginny and meet us at the Cave. Shouldn't take us more than a few minutes to get Remus' portkey activated. Neville, are you ready to wrestle a werewolf?"

The once shy, clumsy boy nodded firmly and transformed into a bear. Harry looked back at Snape one last time before apparating to a nearby rooftop and taking a running leap, soaring across the town in his animagus form towards the distant howls, followed by Neville's lumbering grizzly form.

_*SS*_

Snape looked at the three people in front of him, fighting not to glare at them accusingly. "Why are three barely-adult wizards going off to fight the werewolf, when there are two fully-trained Aurors available?" He growled in irritation. "And how in the hell did Potter manage to become a Roc animagus? Neither of his parents were magical animagi."

Tonks blushed. "It's not unusual for the gene to skip a few generations. We think it's from the Peverell line, but we can't be sure Lily doesn't have some magical blood in her family history. As for the three of us, I can't be an animagus, it's a trade off of being able to change my human shape at will, and werewolves aren't exactly vulnerable to magic. Kingsley is…well…"

"I can be of no help to them when it comes to Remus. My animagus form is a spotted jackrabbit, and besides slowing the three of them down, I can serve as little more than bait. Ginny's a panther, but right now she's still working on getting her equilibrium, and is terribly clumsy on her paws. Don't worry, Severus, those three 'barely-trained' wizards are very capable of handling this on their own," Kingsley said gruffly. "We should go to the Cave, so we can be there to do our parts. Severus, do you mind side-along apparition? The location is warded so that we cannot speak its name and you cannot even approach it unless we bring you there or key you to the wards."

Snape nodded and the four of them disappeared.

_*HP*_

Harry circled overhead, waiting for Neville and Hermione to corral Remus into an area open enough for him to pick him up without risking getting caught in the trees. He couldn't believe Severus was alive…a year and a half since that terrible night in the graveyard. Where had the man been? Who could have betrayed Severus? Who could have possibly known?

The large bird soared higher as Harry searched for stronger currents of warm air in the thick winter air, allowing his mind to wander from the disturbing questions. He had been devastated when he'd realized what happened. When he'd left the Wizarding World with Ron and Hermione they had forced him to tell him what was wrong, they'd always been able to sense with something was weighing on him. After trying so hard to explain how he was at fault for what happened to Snape, and thus every death that had happened since, Ron had blown up. A tear turned to ice on Harry's beak as he remembered how furious Ron had been to find out Harry thought such a stupid thing. He'd spent their year in hiding constantly reminding Harry that Voldemort would've found a way back no matter what, and that it was a waste of time to wallow in grief and self-pity.

With Ron's death in Liverpool, Harry had been furious, half-destroying The Cave as he spitefully shouted everything Ron had said. It had taken a week for him to see the real wisdom in the redhead's words. He knew now that he couldn't save everyone, even those he wanted to save the most, and that he had to cherish every second he had with the people around him. It still hurt to think of the number of times he'd brushed Ron off in favor of doing more research. He wished desperately that he'd seen the logic Ron had tried so hard to show him sooner. It had been Ron who'd helped him work out why he was really so grieved over Severus' apparent death.

At first, Ron had believed Harry might be in love with the "Old Git", but after a while he'd relented on the fact that it was a ludicrous notion. Instead, they had researched it in their spare time. Harry had adamantly refused to admit it then, despite what they'd found, but based on his own reaction moments ago, he knew Ron, and the books, were right. He and Severus were somehow intertwined. Fate, destiny, magic…one or more of the three had joined them in an unbreakable bond sometime during their years of casual interaction. Harry suspected that it had been that very term before Voldemort's rise, when he'd finally realized after so long that everything Severus had ever done had been to protect him, or help him to grow. Even when the man was truly being cruel because of Harry's father, his comments had been a way to keep Harry from becoming the man James had been: stubborn, and filled with foolish, conceited pride. That was what truly devastated him when he'd thought the man dead; he had known deep down that he should've researched the techniques Severus was trying to teach him, but anger at the man for not being more thorough in his lessons had stopped him. He realized after dwelling on it for so long that the man would never have been able to devote the time needed to teach him the techniques himself. In a school with children constantly in need of watching, and Voldemort calling him so frequently, it was amazing the man had found time at all.

A loud howl, mimicking the ones in Muggle cartoons, interrupted Harry's thoughts, and Harry focused his sharp eyes on the ground so far below. Hermione and Neville had maneuvered Remus into what once might have been a flourishing wheat field, now dead from the frigid night air that promised yet another layer of snow. Harry immediately brought his wings in close to his body, diving for the three large land creatures. Together, Hermione and Neville were keeping the werewolf from escaping in any direction, tightening their circle of defense slowly as Harry got closer. Finally, after a few moments, Harry threw his wings out, abruptly stopping his descent, and grasped the fierce, snapping canine in one of his massive talons. He beat his wings solidly as he lifted the now horribly frightened beast higher into the air. He saw Neville and Hermione return to their human forms before apparating, then paused in his ascent, soaring on a warm air current. He looked down at the wolf clawing to get out of his grip, and maneuvered his other talon to wrap gently around his neck, touching the tip of one sharp claw to the medallion Remus had sutured onto his back, between his shoulder blades. It had been the only place he could think of that the wolf wouldn't be able to tear it out from. When he was sure his honorary godfather wouldn't be able to struggle free at the wrong moment, he built up the oxygen in his chest and released a horrendous cry. Immediately, Roc and Werewolf disappeared with a crack of displaced air.

_*HP*_

Harry took a shuddering breath as the portkey deposited them several hundred feet in the air above their home, and looked for an air current that would carry them downwards. He spotted the manipulated air that Kingsley and Tonks were spelling into a slow-moving twister directly over the werewolf's enclosure, and dived for it, relishing the feel of the magically warmed air on his frozen feathers. The spell crackled over his body as he slowly circled downward. Finally he was close enough to the enclosure, and he swept away from the smooth, manipulated air to the more turbulent, natural air. After several yards, he turned abruptly and settled into an even dive. At just the right moment, he released the wolf into the heavily shielded out-building, wincing at the yelp of surprise as Remus rolled across the dirt floor, then landed a few feet away. It had taken weeks for Remus to convince Harry that the drop wouldn't really hurt him, and that his scars and bruises only existed because the wolf had created them himself. Werewolves really _were_ amazingly resilient against anything but their own kind.

Shaking the ice particles from his feathers, Harry spotted Severus standing a little ways off, in the back garden, smirking. His keen, eagle-esque eyes thought he detected a little pride and awed amaze hiding behind the smirk. With a high-pitched cry, he transformed, only to be instantly surrounded by his companions as they heaped blankets onto his shoulders. He smiled as Kingsley and Tonks congratulated him on performing the yet-untested maneuver successfully, then moved away as the five of them turned to ensuring the enclosure's shields would hold, since the blue moon supposedly affected a werewolf's strength. With his chattering teeth and trembling muscles, he'd be of little help for even the smallest task until he'd warmed up properly.

"Cold, Potter?"

Harry looked up and realized Severus had moved from the garden at some point. He chuckled, ignoring the bruising feeling as his knees knocked together from his violent shivers. "It's bloody cold up there. Barely felt it through my feathers, but for some reason the cold always remains even when I land and change back."

Snape lifted a thin eyebrow as he produced a cup of cocoa from the folds of his cloak. "It is likely internal, Potter. As a Roc your organs can withstand the cold, but unfortunately you cannot merely shake off the ice crystals forming around them. Your magic, luckily, keeps whatever ice forms from really damaging you. Here," He handed the steaming the mug to the boy, bracing his hands on either side of Harry's to help him sip. "This will help."

"Where'd you get this?" Harry asked as Severus helped him take another sip.

Snape smirked. "I heated some water, and mixed it with a packet of powder in a mug I found inside." Harry rolled his eyes, making the smirk morph into something that could almost be considered an indulgent smile. "I keep packets of cocoa mix on my person, as it's a much faster way of dispelling the gloom of Dementors than waiting for solid chocolate to dissolve in your stomach. Besides, the warmth alone helps one to feel better even before the cacao bean takes effect."

Harry nodded, accepting what his former Potions teacher said as truth, and allowed the man to help him sip more of the soothingly warm beverage. Already, he could feel his shivering begin to subside, and his teeth had stopped chattering as hard, a change from the near three hours it normally took. He heard the others approach behind him, and turned, confident that he could hold the cup on his own now.

"Oy, that's my mug," Tonks groused playfully as she ruffled Harry's hair. The young wizard shooed her hand away.

"Blame the professor, he's the one who borrowed it to help me get warm," He said, taking a deliberate sip as Tonks pretended to pout.

"Is that hot cocoa, Harry?" Hermione asked, sniffing at the cup. "Why on earth didn't we think of that?"

Harry shrugged and looked at the enclosure twenty feet away, where Moony was slamming himself against the half-transparent walls. They'd decided it was best they be able to see what the Werewolf was doing at all times when he was locked up, to prevent any surprise escapes, but too cruel to allow the wolf to see out without being able to really leave.

"I'm more surprised that Lupin never thought of this solution," Snape commented. "But I suppose it's understandable that he wouldn't know to think of it, as his expertise is in dark creatures, not human health."

"As evidenced by his scars," Harry pointed out as he turned back to face his friends.

"Harry! That's not fair," Hermione argued. "Remus does what he can for his injuries after a full moon."

Harry sighed. "I wasn't saying he didn't, 'Mione, I was only agreeing that he doesn't have any real medical knowledge. None of us really do, Snape excluded."

Snape straightened his spine when suddenly he became their object of scrutiny. "I do have a more than adequate knowledge of medi-wizardry," He admitted solemnly. "I am not as thoroughly trained as a Healer, but have a slightly wider knowledge base for injuries and illnesses than the average Healer's assistant."

Kingsley hummed thoughtfully. "That could be useful. As Harry said, we're severely lacking in that area. I'm rudimentary at best. Feel like joining our little rebellion, Severus?"

The man raised an eyebrow in question, but before he could say anything, Harry spoke again. "No, not yet." He looked Snape in the eye, and held his gaze firmly. "It's not that I don't trust you, Professor, because I know better than anyone that you can be trusted, but I think it best we get a full background on where you've been and what you've been doing for the last year and a half, and perhaps something on what exactly happened in that graveyard. Without at least a little something to go on, we can't be sure you won't accidentally compromise our position without realizing you're doing so. I realize that sounds paranoid, and you're perfectly capable of having dispelled any targeting or tracking spells that may have been placed on you since then, but I'd rather be safe now than sorry later. I hope you can understand. There's a lot riding on the seven of us, and being incautious just because you're familiar could be a mistake that costs us everything."

Severus bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. "I agree entirely, Potter, and will be happy to oblige you with whatever information I can."

Tonks and Kingsley looked between the two wizards in surprise, while Hermione, Neville, and Ginny looked at Harry with pride. He had grown up a lot, especially since Ron's death. Ginny stepped forward and hugged the boy she considered to be a brother.

"Now that that's settled, we should all go off to bed. Even if Snape were to try and deliberately betray us, it'd take him days to figure out and dismantle the majority of our wards, so anything we need to talk about can wait until tomorrow." She glanced at the Potions Master, "No offense, sir." Snape shrugged.

Harry yawned, and pulled off the blankets weighing down his shoulders. "Alright. I don't have the power or energy to summon another room tonight, and the couch is still wobbly from our last practice duel, so who's Snape going to bunk with?" He looked around at his friends, all of whom avoided looking him in the eye. He rolled his eyes and looked at Snape, who luckily didn't seem insulted by their reluctance. "I guess you'll be in my room. It's a bit small, but we can split my king bed into two full-size, and have about a foot between the beds. Alright?"

Severus nodded without hesitation, and Harry passed off the blankets in his hand to his friends as he led the man back towards the house, bidding the assembly goodnight. As they entered the large three-story, Harry continued to sip at his cocoa. Snape spoke as they reached the stairs. "I apologize for inconveniencing you, Potter." Harry nearly snorted his hot chocolate as the words hit him. Did Snape just apologize?

"It's no problem, sir, really," Harry said at last. "I'd have offered my room anyway, but I chose the smallest bedroom since I spend most of my time in the garden or the library. It will be a bit cramped, but if everything works out as I expect it will tomorrow, I'll make you your own room. The only space left without adding onto the house itself is in the attic with me, though. I hope you don't mind."

"Why would you choose to sleep in the attic?" Snape questioned idly as he followed Harry up the stairs.

The younger wizard shrugged. "It's not as bad as it sounds. It's been completely changed to look like any other floor, and was in fact designed to be a rental space, so there's a kitchen and everything. Comes in handy when I'm up late doing research or practicing my rune work."

"That actually sounds rather nice. As I am sincerely confident in our talk tomorrow having the desired outcome, you should know that I don't require much bedroom space either. I tend to keep very little in my life in the way of 'knick-knacks' beyond a few photos, and prefer to spend my time reading, gathering ingredients, or, of course, brewing." Snape said as they reached the door to the attic, or in this case, the third floor apartment.

Harry hummed in acknowledgement, wondering at the man's confidence and strangely accommodating attitude, as he pulled a key from around his neck. "This door remains locked from the outside, and I'll be keeping it locked from the inside as well, tonight. The key is only solid in my hands, as a precaution, and there's another, magical door that leads directly to the greenhouses or potions lab. That door will also be locked. As I said-"

"You trust me, but you cannot be too careful in your situation," Severus interrupted smoothly. Harry looked over his shoulder to see that not-quite-there smile again. "I not only understand your reasons, Potter, but I condone them wholeheartedly. In these times, people die because they won't believe that someone they know could put them in danger. I was a spy, Mister Potter, I know the danger you risk putting yourself in by merely keeping me in your home for the night, and I am honored that your trust in me has brought me this far into your sanctum sanctorum."

Harry snorted as he led the way to his room. "Honestly, sir, that decision was not mine. You may have noticed that when I left to help Hermione, I never said anything in regards to you coming here. I left the decision to Kingsley and Tonks, because they've known you, if not better, at least longer than I've had opportunity for. Had it been my decision, I'd have left you in that village until morning. It's nothing against you, I've just become more cautious ever since Ron died. Without his paranoia to temper my own, I've lost some of my perspective on what is _too_ cautious, and tend to leave those decisions to people better equipped to deal with them. I still make suggestions when the situation calls for a vote, but I try to keep out of 'indirect safety precautions', as Ginny calls it." He opened the door to his room and set the mug on his dresser.

Severus cleared his throat. "Well, then I am grateful you saw fit to trust the ex-Aurors' decision. I can't say I don't agree with your wish to be cautious, though. This is a war, and even the 'better equipped' can sometimes fail in regards to safety."

Harry smiled softly as he spelled his bed apart. "Thank you, sir, for understanding." He turned. "I have some extra pajama bottoms, but I doubt any of my shirts would really fit you, since they've gotten a bit small on _me_ recently. If it's alright, I prefer to sleep closest to the window." Snape nodded and moved to the bed nearest the door as Harry rummaged through his relatively small chest of drawers. He withdrew two pairs of dark blue cotton pajama bottoms, and tossed one onto Severus' bed. "I'll change in the bathroom, unless you want to shower. Basic spells work up here, but I have wards set to prevent any strong spellwork from anyone but myself, so cleaning spells are relatively weak."

Severus smirked. "I think of the two of us, you are the one most in need of a shower, Mister Potter. Lupin gave quite the chase from what I saw."

Harry blushed and ducked his head, moving towards the door. With his hand on the knob, he looked back over his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here, sir. You've always been the best of us, and if anything can turn the tide of this war, it's you on our side."

Snape wrinkled his brow. "You exaggerate my importance greatly, but I appreciate the thought." Harry nodded his head firmly, then left for his much needed shower.

_*HP*_

Harry rolled over for the fourth time in as many minutes, scratching distractedly at his calf, which was just starting to scab over. He didn't know what it was, but something was bothering him. He tossed himself onto his other side.

"Is this a new form of torture, Mister Potter?"

Harry blushed and looked over his shoulder at the other bed in the moonlight. He'd thought Severus had been asleep even before he returned from his shower. "What do you mean?"

Snape sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "This method of keeping me awake. Are you incapable of staying still for five minutes, or should I simply assume you treat all of your guests to this annoyance as a way of proving their loyalties?"

Harry snorted. "Yeah, sleep deprivation or asking me what's wrong. Obviously the most foolproof manner of determining whose an ally."

Snape rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Obviously," He growled, throwing his sheets off and getting out of his bed to sit on the side of Harry's. "What's the matter, Potter?" He leaned against the headboard, crossing his feet at the ankles.

Harry rolled over onto his back. "You could have asked from your own bed."

Severus grunted noncommittally. "I had a feeling you would prefer I was awake for the conversation, and the likelihood of that happening with a pillow under my head was determinedly slim. What's wrong?"

Harry sat up and stared at his twiddling thumbs in the dark. "I'm not sure, it's just something that feels off. It's not anything to do with you, or your presence here, if it were I would've simply gone to sleep knowing you couldn't do anything until morning at the earliest."

"Then what is it?" The Potions Master inquired tiredly.

Harry shrugged. "This whole day just sort of feels like a set up. First we hear of a group of wizards forming a rebellion, and it turned out to be House Elves. That was strange in itself, because it makes no sense that the families in that village would free their elves when they fled…"

"In the first war, dozens of House Elves turned on their master's because of poor treatment, or sometimes for no reason at all. People don't want to see a repeat of that, Potter, especially when they're fleeing," Snape explained. "And you heard a rumor of Wizard's, rather than House Elves, because I started that rumor months ago hoping it would reach you. I lived in a damp shack for two months praying you would show up."

"I guess that makes sense…" Harry muttered. "But then there's this thing with Remus. He's always careful about the full moon, and he always reminds Hermione and I when we need to start brewing, but lately, in the last few weeks, he's been…distracted, and I have no idea what could possibly distract him so much that he forgets about his curse."

Severus yawned. "I could not say, Potter. Perhaps he and your other two instructors simply wished to test your capabilities, knowing you were in an uninhabited area."

Harry nodded. "That sounds like something those three would come up with. They're constantly trying to push us to do better, practice more, ad nauseum. Less important is the fact that 'Mione's seemed a little distracted lately. She's…I dunno how to put it. It's like she's less concerned about gaining knowledge for it's own sake, and more concerned with improvement in the areas she already knows, you know? Maybe she's just taking the war more seriously, now that she's done grieving over the loss of our best friend?"

A soft snore was his only answer, and Harry turned to see Severus with his head leaned back and his mouth slightly open. He stifled a giggle at seeing the man so unguarded. The young wizard raised his wand and gently used a weak levitation spell to straighten the man out, summoning the pillow from the other bed to put under him. Despite what he'd told the Potion's Master about being the only one able to cast strong spells, his Roc form tended to weaken his magic for several hours when he used it to carry heavy things, because the large bird used an automatic feather-light charm, and separating the bed had drained him of a lot of his energy. He pulled the blankets out from under his former professor and tossed them over him before settling under them himself. He knew deep down that the man could be trusted; it was just a matter of getting his brain to catch up.

**A/N: Surprise! Thought I wouldn't update, didn't ya? Decided to change the name, but it's still the same story. Oh, and for those who don't yet know my style: THIS WILL BE SLASH! I just haven't decided who's getting who, though. Who knows, I may just screw with all y'alls heads. Nah, just kidding. But seriously, the only couples I have decided on are Harry/Sev (hyuck, duuuh) and Neville/Ginny. Was thinking Hermione/Remus, but what do you think?**


	3. Rebellious Explanations

**A/N: Okay, so because I have a slight impulse control problem, I have granted you lovelies another chapter. But from now on, you must beg! Mwahahahaha! That's not true, I'll probably write it anyway, but if you want updates more often than two-twenty weeks apart, I'll need inspires, and reviews are inspiring (mostly because I love the attention, I'm not afraid to admit it).**

Harry woke up to an empty bed, and stretched languidly as he heard the shower in the next room turn off. He stood up and went to his dresser, digging out two pairs of jeans and a t-shirt. He tossed the second pair of jeans onto his bed, and then did a double take. His bed was…whole. He stared at it confusedly while he changed into his clothes for the day.

The bedroom door opened, and Snape walked in with a towel around his waist. "I see you've deemed to grace the world with your presence." The man said dryly as he used another towel on his hair.

Harry noted the scars that littered the man's slim, finely toned abdomen, and shuddered as he recalled the glee on Pettigrew's face as he carved the majority of them the night of Voldemort's resurrection. He pointed to the bed. "How did it…?" He trailed off when Snape smirked mischievously at the large mattress.

"Ah, yes…" he looked up into Harry's eyes, a glimmer of humor shining in the black depths. "If you had wanted to sleep with me, Potter, you could have merely asked, rather than cast a weak separation charm."

Harry blushed a violent red. "Sorry…you didn't get caught in it or anything, did you? I must've been more tired than I thought."

The almost-smile from the night before reappeared. "No, I was not caught between the mattresses when they rejoined, otherwise you would find a hole in the middle shaped like a very pissed off Potions Master. Luckily, I do not move much in my sleep, unlike you when you can_not_ sleep."

Harry smiled a little. "Yeah…I didn't exactly apologize last night for keeping you up. I'd honestly thought you were asleep already, and I'm sorry. But thanks for listening to my concerns, and helping to allay some of my fears. I got some jeans out for you. I'll go start breakfast while you change."

Snape moved to the bed as Harry walked past him to the door. "Am I to spend the day shirtless, Mister Potter?"

Harry flinched. "If you keep calling me that, then yeah," He mumbled. He turned from the hallway and moved back towards the bed. "No, I just forgot. I can clean your shirt from yesterday. As I said last night, my shirts won't fit you."

Snape retrieved the shirt from where he'd left it on the bedpost the night before. "Can you not clean my trousers as well, or do you simply wish to see the Dungeon Bat in jeans for once?" He teased.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I could if you like, but you'd be walking around in shorts. For some reason, when I try to clean pants the legs unravel halfway up, and the hem even re-trims itself. When it first happened, Tonks wasn't sure if she should be impressed, or disappointed." He took the shirt and started smoothing it out on the bed.

"That is odd," Snape admitted. "How did you feel about it?"

Harry grimaced. "Annoyed. The first attempt was on my favorite pair of jeans, which I favored because they hugged my calves just right to hide my calf holster for my secondary wand without being baggy. Luckily, Hermione was able to fix them."

Snape hummed in agreement as Harry raised his wand to cast the cleaning spell. "So, Potter…"

"Yes?" Harry murmured distractedly as he tried to determine how strong the spell should be.

"What would you prefer I call you?" The whisper ghosted over Harry's ear, making him jump and _scourgify_ the bed spread by accident. He turned around sharply to see Snape staring at him innocently. "So I won't be forced to walk around with either a bare abdomen, or a dirty shirt."

Harry blushed for the second time that morning. "I didn't think you'd hear that. 'Potter' is fine, since you seem attached to that name, though I'd prefer 'Harry'. As long as you don't call me 'Mister Potter'…it makes me feel like I'm back in the dungeons waiting for you to take points." He turned back around and cast the cleaning spell on the shirt, willing the sleeves to shorten just because the man had made him miss the first. They remained stubbornly at their normal length.

"I suppose I could manage as much, Potter, so long as you do not call me 'professor' any longer. You are a grown wizard, and I have never required my former students to continue the sobriquet. You may call me by my given name, or, and I offer this hesitantly to you, you may call me 'Severus'."

Harry frowned as he grabbed his clothes again. "Why so hesitant?"

The man grimaced. "I fear you may do as your mother once did and shorten it to 'Sev'. She thought the nickname was cute, I thought it sounded like a cat coughing up a hairball. My name is not long enough to require a nickname, and if it must be shortened for any purpose, one could just as easily remove the syllable of the second 'e'."

Harry chuckled as he left the room. "Whatever you say, Sev'rus, it's your name. When you've finished changing, meet me downstairs. The kitchen is the lowest floor, just like at Grimmauld, and the stairs are directly across from the main staircase. I don't recommend you trying to wander, the house has automatic booby traps that don't deactivate until _everyone _keyed to the wards is awake."

Snape nodded that he understood and Harry left the room quickly, his bare feet slapping against the hardwood as he left the attic itself. He moved down the stairs quietly, careful not to wake his sleeping companions. He was always the first one up, and the others would follow soon when they began to smell breakfast. The Muggle ventilation system worked in that favor. When he reached the kitchen, Harry set out a mountain of ingredients for breakfast. Remus was always hungry the morning after the full moon.

The Gryffindor stood on his toes as he reached for the pans at the top of the cabinet, then started when another hand surpassed his, and a firm body pressed against his back. He turned to see Snape smirking as he put the pans on the counter. He blushed, though he didn't know why.

"Guess I'm still a little short," He muttered. "It's a wonder my pants fit you last night. Do you want to help with breakfast?"

"I had to use a lengthening charm on the pants. And I suppose it would only be fair to help, as you seem to be feeding an army," Severus replied, moving to the ingredients laid out on the kitchen's island.

Harry huffed, taking a deep breath. "Yes, well, Remus had a rather…full night." Snape glanced at him with an eyebrow raised at the lame joke. "That werewolf turns into a bear after a full moon if we don't feed him properly." Harry continued.

The Potions Master snorted as he sorted the ingredients into the different foods they would be making. "Where would you even get all this food without being seen somewhere?"

"It's called a supermarket," Harry said, grabbing the ingredients for the pancakes and beginning to measure them into a large white bowl. "Amazing thing, Muggles eat all the same stuff that Wizard's do." Snape looked at him dubiously, and Harry raised a hand in concession. "Well, alright, maybe not everything, but quite a lot of it. Anyway, will you start the coffee while I start the pancakes, then cut up the sausage and ham so we can start the meats? I assume you know how to use a Muggle coffee maker?"

Snape nodded and moved to the far counter where the electric pot sat beside the jar of coffee grounds. For nearly twenty minutes, they worked together in silence, Snape doing whatever Harry asked of him, and surprisingly capable with the Muggle utilities. They were both stood at the stove, Harry minding the sausage, bacon, and ham while Severus started on the large pan of cheesy scrambled eggs, at the same time as flipping the hash in a separate pan.

Remus stumbled in through a magical door specifically designed to connect the house and his cage the morning following a full moon. "Morning Harry, Severus," He muttered groggily as he passed the stove, ruffling Harry's hair and moving towards the coffee pot, where Harry had already set out everyone's coffee mug.

Harry glanced at Snape, who was smirking. "He'll notice, just give him a few minutes," He whispered.

A few minutes later, Tonks and Hermione came down the stairs. "Morning," They both mumbled sleepily, going straight for the freshly brewed coffee. Ginny followed within moments, skipping chipperly to her seat at the long table near the door. Harry knew she'd likely been up doing yoga since he came down the stairs.

"Morning all!" Ginny announced to the room in general. The two witches and werewolf scowled as they took their own seats, all three nursing their mugs of black ambrosia. "How'd you sleep, Professor Snape?"

Harry caught the man's eye and blushed crimson as he remembered that they'd spent the night in the same bed, even before his spell had cancelled itself. Before Snape could say anything, though, Remus interrupted.

"Snape?" He yelped loudly, followed by a _thunk_ as he fell out of his chair. Harry and Severus turned to see the werewolf staring with something akin to awe at the Potions Master. "But you're dead…when the hell did that stop being a permanent thing?"

"Right about the time Potter needed someone to save his life…again. That's twice now I've prevented you from hurting this boy in your other form. You're welcome," Snape said nonchalantly before turning back to the eggs and hash.

Harry rolled his eyes at the man's dramatics, and looked at the three witches trying to help Remus off the floor, where he seemed frozen. "Guys, could you explain while we finish breakfast?"

They nodded as Remus finally stood up on his own and retook his seat. Harry turned back in time to flip the meats before one side burned.

"Not going to lecture me, Potter, about being nicer to your honorary godfather?" Snape asked quietly.

Harry shrugged, glancing over his shoulder to see Kingsley and Neville joining the others in their explanation to Remus. "Not really. I've tried to tell him a thousand times that he needs to try and be more aware when he wakes up, he deserves the little surprises when they happen, whether he likes them or not." He turned off the burners on the pan and Snape helped him put the food onto serving plates.

Together, they spelled the food to float over to the table, where everyone was munching on the miniature blueberry muffins Harry had made earlier, and were discussing the events of the night before. Harry moved simultaneously with Snape to the coffee pot for their own morning fix, handing the man one of the extra mugs while he filled his and Neville's. He went put sugar and cream into one of the coffees, then chuckled when Snape wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"What's funny?"

Harry jumped, glad he didn't have his coffee in hand. "Merlin, Ginny, don't do that!" He hissed as the girl jumped up to sit on the counter next to the pot.

"You knew I was in the room," She excused with a shrug.

Harry huffed. "I thought you were explaining to Remus about Snape, not wandering around the kitchen with the express intent of scaring the shit out of me."

"I wasn't wandering around the kitchen, Tonks and Kingsley took over the explanation and I decided you guys were more interesting. So what's funny?" Ginny argued.

Harry sighed, but decided there was no point in reminding the girl again that sneaking up on people before they'd had their coffee was just mean. "Severus is apparently of the same opinion as me as to the way Neville takes his coffee. Speaking of which, would you mind taking this to him?" He handed the girl the mug and she frowned, but took it anyway.

"Sure, Harry, I can tell when I'm not wanted. I'm hungry anyway." She hopped off of the counter and rejoined the group at the table as they all began piling their plates with food.

The Gryffindor turned and leaned against the counter as he sipped his coffee, forgetting Snape was beside him until the man spoke.

"Will you not be joining your friends for breakfast, Harry?" The Potions Master asked softly.

Harry hummed as he took a long sip of his coffee. "I don't normally, no, but you're welcome to. I don't like the noise at the table when it's this crowded, and I'm not really hungry for a while after I cook, anyway." He saw Snape nod in understanding out of the corner of his eye, and turned his head to look at the man. "You could go eat if you wanted, I'm used to standing by myself."

Snape looked at him with that almost-smile once more gracing the once stern features. "I prefer the company over here, Potter. I, too, prefer to wait for a time before I eat after I finish cooking."

Harry quirked up one side of his mouth, and turned back to watching his friends eat as he drank his coffee.

_*HP*_

The group gathered in the living room, where Harry and Severus were already talking. They situated themselves comfortably on the couches and chairs, before Harry stood to address them.

"Alright, so as a group we need to make a decision about whether or not Severus can stay. I know the majority of you would like to say yes now, but before we even take the vote, Severus has agreed to tell us what happened in the graveyard last summer, and where he's been since. I've told him we'll respect his explanation, and not interrupt, nor ask questions until he's finished. Can you all agree to that?"

The group nodded and Harry sat back down in the chair opposite the Potions Master. After a few minutes of gathering his thoughts, Snape began. "Last night, Potter and I discussed his paranoia, and how sometimes he thinks he's _too_ paranoid. Yes it's possible to be 'too paranoid', but I wish I'd had his paranoia the night the Dark Lord rose again. I was meeting with someone whom I thought I could trust to discuss…" Severus paused and glanced at Harry before continuing. "Something, it's unimportant now. We met over drinks, and he had already ordered for me when I arrived. I should have known then that something was off, because this person had never learned my drink of choice in all the years we've known each other, but I trusted this person enough to believe I had simply mentioned it before and forgotten about it. We spoke for several minutes before I picked up my glass, because my companion kept insisting I drink. A suspicious action that I again ignored because I assumed I could trust this person, and that they simply wanted me inebriated to try and prevent violent fallout from the topic of our conversation. The minute I touched my glass, I found myself port-keyed to the graveyard. I didn't immediately recognize the area I was in, and let my guard down, thinking it was a vicious prank. The Dark Lord arrived soon after, and Harry has told you the story of what happened at Voldemort's resurrection, as seen through the eyes of Nagini. I was disarmed and immobilized by Pettigrew, and the ritual took place. To be completely honest, I don't entirely know how I escaped. All I remember is the ground opening beneath me."

Harry cleared his throat, breaking his own rule. "I thought that had been some new spell Voldemort created," He said, his voice thick as he recalled the horror he'd felt at the sight of Snape being swallowed up by the grass and dirt. His screaming was what had broken him from the vision.

Snape nodded. "I had thought the same until I awoke on the ground outside of one of Albus' safe houses in Transylvania. The man arrived a few days later to explain that after my miraculous escape, Voldemort had destroyed the graveyard, as well as Pettigrew, the only witness to his resurrection, and that the Wizarding World thought I was dead. He left me in the house to recover, as the blade Pettigrew used that night was cursed, and any attempts to heal any of the wounds I received that night would simply make them fresher and deeper, as well the wounds healed ten times as slow as a normal knife wound. I was in the house until a few months ago, at first healing, and then unsure of what I should do if I left. I had no news, no idea of what had been going on, until I one day received a letter from Hagrid, who is apparently hiding amongst the giants with his mother's family. He had somehow found out I was alive; likely a delayed note from Albus, and the letter he sent me explained everything that had been happening in my absence. That was when I went in search of you, Potter, and whoever was with you. I looked for any trace I could hope to find for two months before I finally decided to simply bring you to me. I have to say I had not expected you to dismiss the House Elves into new lives immediately, as I had tasked one of them to return to me as soon as he could, should you arrive. Had you not forgotten the blue moon, I doubt I would have known you were there at all. However, that problem shall be eradicated, should you decided I can stay, as I spent the time I was recovering working on my experiments. One of the successes was a much improved version of my original Wolfsbane."

"Well, that settles my vote," Remus said immediately, leaning back in the chair.

The others nodded, with mutterings of agreement, but Harry frowned. "But hold on, we can't let that decide it."

"We aren't, Harry," Neville said. "We listened to his story, and he sounds legitimate, even sincere."

"Neville's right, Harry," Hermione spoke up. "Hagrid told us in his last letter, around the time he contacted Snape, that he was sending us help. There's no way Hagrid could've known we had hidden ourselves well enough to evade the master spy, and it makes sense that Hagrid would be the one told about Professor Snape, because he's the only person who was nearby that Albus _knew_ could be trusted."

"But, wait," Remus sat forward. "How did you know we'd respond to the rumors of a wizard rebellion? We don't normally, because Harry's such an asset that we can't risk him by letting amateurs, or potentially dangerous people, know who he's with or where he is."

"I knew you would respond because Minerva swore that you would. While I was tracing you, I was led to an area outside of Sicily, where Minerva cornered me. She and several others have apparently laid false trails across the globe that supposedly lead to you, but in fact lead to ambush points. It was she who found the House Elves, and provided me with the run down cabin I was using as my quarters while I waited. It was a simple matter of starting a rumor about a wizard rebellion that no one had actually seen," Snape explained patiently.

"And Minerva was the one who told us it might be ex-aurors, who we'd know we could trust, or Death Eaters trying to lure in other rebels," Tonks acknowledged, smacking her forehead. "That's why we went in the first place!"

The group chuckled at her gross over-simplification of the three day argument they'd had over whether to go or not, and Ginny grinned at Harry. "See, it all works out, like pieces of a puzzle, Harry. Why are you so quick to distrust him? I thought it seemed like you were getting along."

Harry furrowed his brow and chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. "It does all seem to fit," He conceded. "And I suppose we are getting along alright, though that seems a little odd for us…" He looked at the Potions Master, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly in scrutiny. "What I don't understand is why you have yet to tell us who the man that betrayed you was? Why hide it?"

Severus sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, breaking eye contact with the younger wizard to stare at his hands in his lap. "I wasn't trying to hide it, Potter, but I'll admit I had hoped you wouldn't ask until later, or perhaps never. You have to find out, but I wish it weren't from me," He started slowly. He looked back up into Harry's eyes, and Harry saw and unbridled sadness there. "I'm sorry, Potter, but the man who betrayed my position as a spy was, and is, Sirius Black."

**A/N: So, what do you think? Did you see that coming, or is there a shat brick somewhere around?**


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Harry Potter, Adventure, Family