Chapter 15

Snape stood beside the slightly-ajar door, listening to his students talking. He may have agreed to allow them into his chambers, but that didn�t mean he trusted them - oh, no. Especially not that Weasley boy. Ah, Granger was talking about homework again�big surprise there. Honestly, that girl really needed to set her priorities straight sometimes - even he knew that homework wasn�t quite as important as her friend�s welfare. �Perhaps that�s just the girl�s way of coping,� his inner voice suggested. He mentally pummeled it into submission and returned his attention back to his students just in time to hear Harry summon his books. Sudden silence followed - could it be? Might they actually be studying? - before Weasley�s voice cut through.

�Harry, you don�t have your wand...�

WHAT?! How could he not have his wand? No seventh year could control wandless magic enough to summon anything, let alone a stack of books! Something was not right here...

�Harry, I think you have some explaining to do,� Granger said. Severus took this as his cue and opened the door fully, one eyebrow raised, his arms folded across his chest, in a classic Snape posture.

�Indeed, Ms. Granger,� he said, taking in their surprised looks. �I must agree with you.�

Damn. Damn. He didn�t want to tell Snape yet - not until he�d gotten Ron and Hermione�s reactions first. He knew Snape would just go directly to the headmaster with whatever information he was given. He�d hoped to keep all of this a secret for a bit longer, but now that seemed impossible.

�We�re waiting, Mr. Potter,� Snape reminded him, tapping a finger against his forearm. Merlin, how was he going to explain this now? �Oh, well. He�d just have to remember to leave out the parts when he and Tom had discussed Snape. He took a deep, calming breath and began.

�...and then I woke up in the hospital wing,� Harry concluded. He checked his audience�s reactions. Hermione looked like she was about to start crying again - he was pretty sure that wasn�t normal. Ron seemed to be in quite the state of shock - he hadn�t seen his friend look quite like that since Ginny had been killed almost three weeks ago. Snape managed to keep his expression unreadable, but he looked paler than he had when Harry had first begun the story. �Well, that can�t be good,� Harry thought to himself.

Severus was at quite a loss. The �Tom� that Harry kept referring to seemed quite intent on setting Harry right onto the Dark Lord�s path. Still, there were gaps in the story - small ones that were nearly imperceptible, but Severus knew from Harry�s brief pauses and the shifting of his eyes that he was holding something back. He couldn�t even begin to imagine what that something was, but he was determined to find out.

�Granger, Weasley, you are dismissed,� he said, motioning toward the door.

�But this isn�t class�� Weasley protested.

�You. Are. Dismissed,� he repeated coldly, and the two Gryffindors quickly excused themselves. With a sigh, Severus turned to Harry. The boy looked absolutely terrified.

�Harry, relax. I�m not going to eat you,� he said, desperately trying to inject some semblance of humor into the atmosphere to try to diffuse some of Harry�s tension. The boy seemed to relax slightly, although he couldn�t imagine why a blush had begun to form across Harry�s cheeks. �And despite rumors to the contrary, I am not a vampire, so I won�t be sucking...� �My that�s quite the bright shade of red he�s turning.� �...your blood, either,� he added, taking a seat on the foot of Harry�s bed. The boy tried but failed to suppress his laughter, and Severus was satisfied that he�d loosened Harry up enough to talk. He couldn�t help but feel somehow triumphant, though, at finally being able to make the boy laugh. �Maybe I should try that more often�� �Harry, what didn�t you tell us?� Severus began. Harry immediately tensed up.

�What makes you think that I didn�t tell you something?� he replied nervously. Severus sighed.

�Harry, let me tell you a little story about my older sister, Cecilia,� Severus began. Damn, he was using Dumbledore�s tactics - the old coot must�ve started to rub off on him. He noted the look of surprise on Harry�s face, and smirked. �What? Even I, the evil Potions master, have a family. Surely you didn�t believe those stories about me being hatched from an egg?�

Harry choked back a giggle. �You know about that?�

Severus rolled his eyes. �That and many, many others.� He raised an eyebrow. �At one point, rumor had it that my mother was a hag and my father was a basilisk.� Harry broke down in giggles, and Snape thought it best not to bring up the fact that Black had been the one to come up with that particular theory regarding his lineage. �I thought you might find that amusing.� Harry sobered up, and Severus continued.

�Cecilia was quite possibly the most Slytherin of all the Snapes, so much so that she managed to convince the Sorting Hat to place her into Ravenclaw so that she wouldn�t have to deal with House prejudices.� Harry�s eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened. Snape felt his lips twitch slightly, threatening to turn into a smile before he forced them back into their usual grim line. �You see, she liked to make a game out of manipulating people, but no one really trusted Slytherins. Had she been sorted there, all of her fun would have been spoilt.

�Cecilia became quite the popular young lady in school, despite the fact that she had, unfortunately, inherited the Snape nose...� Here, Harry snorted and Snape sent him a mock glare, �...and the fact that she was quite possibly the worst Quidditch player in the history of the sport. The girl was about as graceful on a broomstick as a diricawl is in the air. The reason she managed to become so well-liked was because she was so exceptional at hiding her feelings that she was able to fake them. She would usually be found smiling brightly to anyone and everyone, regardless of how she really felt. I was the only one who could see through her barriers and find out what her real feelings were, but that took a great deal of practice and a very keen eye. The ability to read her made reading other people quite easy in comparison. That�s how I know that there is something you�re not telling me,� Severus finished, raising an eyebrow. Harry swallowed hard and averted his eyes.

�What happened to her?� Harry heard himself ask before he could stop the words from escaping. He risked a glance at Snape. His posture had weakened just a bit and he had a faraway look in his eyes.

�She died in her seventh year,� the professor replied quietly before snapping himself back into his hardened exterior and glaring at Harry. �But that has nothing to do with this. What aren�t you telling me? What else happened while you were under the influence of the potion?�

Harry bit his lower lip and refused to meet his professor�s gaze. �Tom and I talked about�things,� he replied vaguely. Severus rolled his eyes.

�Yes, I�d assumed as much. My question is, what were you talking about?� he asked.

There was a long pause. Harry swallowed hard before whispering, �You.�