A/n: Thanks to everyone who has stuck around! Also, thanks to my wonderful beta/pre-readers, Ticia and Lady Eve. This story picks up right where The Contract leaves off. Rating will increase.

Edit: Thank you to skyla2010star for the beta!

Edit2: The "Sexual Content" note in the summary and the rating are, so far, only for one chapter. The notes will indicate when the rating changed.

Chapter 1

Harry Potter made his way up to his apartment, his mind still reeling from his meeting with Severus - his final meeting so it would seem. He couldn't shake the feeling that it couldn't end like this. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, though. It wasn't as if he could just go there again and yell at him, make Severus see reason. He didn't feel as if he could just give up, though.

Harry walked in the door and found Hermione sitting on the couch, and her feet curled up. She was right where he'd left her, reading a book. When he walked in, she looked up at him. Her eyes went to the vial in his hand before going back up to his face. "You have the last vial," she told him, "the last drop. You must be relieved. It's not over, but at least, it's a step, right?"

"Yeah, relieved…" Relief was the furthest thing from Harry's mind right now. He felt hurt and confused. He should feel relieved, but he didn't, not in the slightest.

"Is everything okay?" Hermione asked, her face concerned.

"Brilliant," Harry said. He knew he must have sounded sarcastic, but he couldn't find the strength to fake it right now.

Hermione closed her book and put it on the table. "What's wrong?"

Harry sighed, and sat down on the other side of the couch. "Nothing." She gave him that look, that look that said she was smarter than he was, his best friend, and that he couldn't fool her. "He shut the door in my face. He handed me the vial, and said 'Have a nice life, Potter' and then shut the door in my face."

Hermione was quiet for a moment before she responded. "What did you want him to do?" she said, a careful tone in her voice. "The contract is over." Harry nodded, knowing that she was right, or at least, she should be right. "It obviously bothers you, though."

It did bother him. He had just come to terms with the fact that he… that he might have feelings for Severus and then… "Yeah, it does," he said. "I guess I thought…" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

Hermione scooted a bit closer to him and put a hand on his arm. "You know you can tell me anything, Harry."

"There's nothing to tell," Harry said, immediately trying to shut off his feelings. He didn't want to talk to Hermione. He didn't want to admit that he might have, that he… "I thought we might have moved past all that crap, but I guess not." He stood up. "I'm going to go and lay down." He walked into the kitchen and got himself a glass of water before he went into his room, leaving Hermione on the couch.

It wasn't that Harry didn't appreciate it, but what he was supposed to tell her? That he thought Severus had feelings for him to him too, but obviously he didn't?

Sure, that would go over well.

~*o*x*o*x*o*x*o*x~

Hermione spent the next week helping Harry study for the Healer's Entrance Exam when she wasn't at work. He would have tried to get one practice session at the lab, but he knew that Severus would shut the door in his face. He knew Hermione had gotten frustrated with him on more than one occasion, but studying had never been his strong suit.

When the night before the test came, Harry was sure that he couldn't stuff another piece of information in his head. "You need to study, Harry! Who knows when you'll be able to take the test again!" Hermione cried.

Harry was currently leaning forward with his face in his hands. His head was throbbing. "Hermione, I know you're trying to help, but we've been studying all week," he told her. "If I'm not going to pass now, then I don't think anymore studying will help me pass either."

"But-"

"I can't think right now, and I haven't slept that well all week," he told her. "I just want to go to bed."

Hermione sighed. It actually hadn't been that bad having her here. There was someone else to help cook and clean. He didn't mind those things, but it was nice having someone else around from time to time. Then there were times that he couldn't stand to have anyone around. She was starting to get the idea that when he went to his room, he didn't want to be bothered. She liked her space, too. He'd find her reading or watching the telly.

It was the nightmares that had worried him. He knew he had woken up Hermione at least once this week by his screaming. He asked if it bothered her, and she said no. He knew it did, though.

Harry went to bed soon afterward and woke up the next morning after an uneasy sleep. He wasn't sure he was ready for the exam this morning. There was nothing he could do about that, though. It was early, so Hermione was still sleeping as she didn't have to work today. He cooked himself a quick breakfast and drank some coffee before leaving.

~*o*x*o*x*o*x*o*x~

Harry arrived at St. Mungo's and was directed towards the testing room. There were about a dozen other people there milling around the room. As soon as he walked in, all conversation stopped. They all stared at him in wonder and disbelief. He groaned, and went and sat down at a desk in the corner of the room. He wished people would get over their fascination for him because he was really getting sick and tired of it.

An older man walked through the door just then. He had a straight, stiff walk. He walked straight to the front of the room and turned around. "Harry Potter is here for the same thing you are," he said, a harsh cutting tone to his voice. "If you can't handle dealing with a celebrity in a professional capacity, then you are in the wrong business. There's the door." He pointed towards the door straight in front of him. "Leave." No one moved. "Then sit down."

A smirk crossed Harry's face. At least, that was dealt with, he thought to himself as everyone else took a seat. The man at the front continued to speak. "Now, I am Jonas Rutherford, Head of Training for St. Mungo's, and I will be administering your exams over the next two days," he said. "Today will be the written test. It will be a total of three hundred questions. You have eight hours to complete it."

Rutherford began to pace at the front of the room as he talked. "The door will be locked when the test starts. You will have an hour break for lunch, at which point you will have to be back here before that hour is up. Once the testing begins again, the doors will lock," he continued explaining. "You may work through lunch if you wish. When the time is up, you must turn in the test finished or not. I will tell you that most do not take the full eight hours, but you are free to if you need it."

Rutherford went to his desk, grabbed the tests and passed them out. "I will be here all day if you have any questions understanding the material," he said. "You are all adults. Therefore, there should be no issues with cheating. If there is, you will be failed instantly and kicked out." He walked around a bit more before continuing. "Also, in case you still try, each test is slightly different." He walked up to his desk and sat down. He took a pocket watch out of his robe. "You may begin… now." He waved his wand, and Harry heard the door behind them lock.

Harry looked down at the test, which was quite thick. There seemed to be varied kinds of questions - true and false, open-ended, multiple choice, and as he flipped through, a couple of small essay questions as well. It seemed to cover every branch of magic that you would come across while being a Healer, Mediwizard or whatever. He picked up his quill and began to work.

~*o*x*o*x*o*x*o*x~

By lunch time, Harry's head was throbbing. He had taken his time since they had eight hours. He was over halfway done, though. He would have plenty of time to double check his answers though he didn't want to overthink things and start changing the answers that were already right.

"Turn in your tests if you're leaving. You can pick them up when you come back," said Rutherford as he unlocked the doors. "If you finish early, you're due back here at eight o'clock tomorrow morning for the practical portion."

Harry got up and turned in his test. He left St. Mungo's and Apparated to an alley off of Charing Cross Road. He made his way to a diner nearby and ate there before making his way back to St. Mungo's. He picked his test up, and sat down at his seat and went back to work. He finished in a couple of hours with over a couple hours left on the clock. He double checked everything, making some minor changes before deciding that he should just take his chances and turn it in.

Harry did just that, getting a nod from Rutherford before he left.

When he got home, Hermione asked him how it went. "Well enough, I suppose," Harry answered. "I still have one more day." They ate dinner, and Hermione tried to get him to study more. "I don't think I could fit any more information inside my head right now. I think it's best if I just go to bed." He didn't sleep for a few hours of course and slept uneasily after that. He wondered if the nightmares and waking up shaking would ever go away. Or was that something that he was supposed to live with for the rest of the life? He wasn't sure he could do this every night for the rest of his life. And there were no more potions for him, not unless he wanted to risk getting addicted again.

~*o*x*o*x*o*x*o*x~

In the morning, Hermione was still sleeping again. Harry cooked himself breakfast and then headed to St. Mungo's. He made his way to the training room he'd been to the day before. The desks were gone now, replaced with many tables set up around the room in various stations. There seemed to be one for each of them, but they were set up in twos. Harry was a bit confused, so he just stood at the back of the room with everyone else.

Rutherford arrived shortly afterward with a few other Healers in tow. "Morning, everyone," he said curtly. "As you can see, various stations have been set up for the practical portion of your exam. There are various stations to test to your skills and knowledge in regards to the various branches of magic with which you will be tested. As you can see, there are different groups. Pick one to start with, and you may go in any order you wish. Rules are the same as yesterday - hour lunch, locked doors, and eight hours."

Rutherford walked to the only remaining desk in the room, his own. "I will be here to answer your questions if you have them, but I cannot help you figure out what to do only to understand the task with which you are set," he said. "The others are fellow Healers here to assist me today. When you finish with one section, motion for one of us to come over if one of us is not already there. When you are done, you may leave. You will receive your results in about ten weeks. If you pass, you will receive your start date as well as the name of your trainer with your results. If you fail, you are free to retake this exam again whenever you wish."

Rutherford looked around the room, and then pulled out his pocket watch again. "Your time starts… now." Everyone rushed towards a table, but Harry had hesitated. He wanted to make sure he wasn't doing Potions first, but on second thought, perhaps he should get that over with as soon as possible. However, he was stuck with what seemed to be a Herbology-related table.

Upon approaching the desk, there was parchment and quill set in a corner. He picked it up and found that it was the directions. He tried to pick another parchment out of curiosity and found he couldn't. It was obviously spelled so you could only pick up one at a time. The parchment was simple enough to understand. It had a list of ailments that a patient was suffering, and asked which of the plants on the table might be the cause and which plant would help it. Harry stood there for a bit, thinking about it. He had to figure out what the plants were first, and once he'd done that, he looked at the list of ailments again.

When he was sure, he motioned one of the Healers over. He marked on the parchment the name of the plant and then handed over the parchment with the directions. The Healer gave a nod, not one approval or disapproval, but simply a nod that he had understood. Some marks were made on the parchment before he was waved off. Harry looked around the room, and finding one of the potions stations open, he quickly went over to claim that station before someone else could.

Harry grabbed the parchment and found the name of a potion that he was to complete. There were no directions, no ingredients. Various kinds of ingredients were around the table, as well as a cauldron. They expect me to know what it is and how to make it, he said, and that made sense. He had to think for a moment, but then the ingredients came to him. Knowing how to make it and doing it successfully, though, were two different things. Harry vanished his first try, though, and remade it. It came out better the second time. He motioned one of the Healers over, and bottled up the vial and handed over his directions. The Healer made a couple of marks on it and bound the two together.

Harry had wasted quite a bit of time at the Potions table, and it was nearly lunchtime. He thought he had time for one more table. He found himself at a Defense table. There was nothing on this table except the parchment and quill. It had a list of ailments and asked which spell could have caused it and what spell would help slow down the ailments the patient was experiencing. Harry marked on the parchment before handing it over to a Healer.

It was lunchtime then. Harry left, going to the diner again before making his way back. The other tables went similarly as the ones before, and he finished with plenty of time. He simply nodded at Rutherford before leaving. Hermione seemed pleased that he'd finished early when he got home and asked him how it went. "Well enough," he replied again. "I guess I'll know in ten weeks."

"Do you think you passed?" she asked.

Harry thought about that for a second. "Yeah, I mean…" He shrugged. "I feel pretty good about it. After all the studying I did. I had to redo my potion, but yeah… I think I passed. I hope I passed. If not, I'm taking it again, I suppose. There's no use in worrying about it. I did the best I could, and that's all there is to it."

~*o*x*o*x*o*x*o*x~

Harry didn't see any use in worrying about the exam anymore, but without that to occupy his mind, he was left to think about Severus. He tried not to, but he had no job yet and nothing else to do. Sure, in the morning before Hermione left for work and after she had got home, he had her to talk to. During the day when she was at work, though, he had nothing else to occupy his thoughts. Well, almost nothing...

Harry couldn't shake the feeling that he had when he'd left Severus's that final time. It couldn't be it; there had to be more. He tried to do anything but think about him. He tried reading more, had Teddy over. Nothing worked, though, at least not for long. After a couple of weeks, Harry went back to Severus's shop to the back door, but he wouldn't answer it. He couldn't very well just stand there banging at the door, so he reluctantly left and went back home.

Soon after that, he was due at Hogwarts for one of his lectures. He went there, and couldn't help but feel some sense of contentment as he looked upon the castle. With a sigh, he walked up and was greeted by Professor McGonagall in the Entrance Hall. "How are you, Harry?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'm all right, Professor," he said.

"Please call me Minerva," she said. "You are not a student anymore."

That was true enough. She led him to the Great Hall where they waited for the students to arrive. Estelle Rockfort, the current Defense teacher, asked him what he was going to lecture on. Harry shrugged. "I think I'm going to talk about teamwork," he told him. "I'll figure it out. I always do."

As the students started to arrive, Harry noticed something. They were still arriving by houses. There was some mingling, but for the most part, the houses were all segregated. He thought of Severus, and it made him angry that nothing seemed to have changed since Voldemort died. The tables had been moved, so all that was left were chairs. He knew exactly what he was going to talk about now.

After the students had sat down, Harry walked in front of them. "Can everyone hear me?" he asked, and there was some mumbling. "I'll take that as a yes." He waved his wand made a large circle in the air with his wand that drew the same circle in the air. "I was going to talk about something else, but I'm changing my topic slightly." He looked around at the segregated room. "This may not seem to make any sense, but I promise, I have a point. Each house has both good points and bad points, yes?" There were nods. "Right, so let's go through them, shall we? Anyone can answer, but be careful of your prejudices."

If Severus had taught him anything, Harry knew it was that you couldn't take any of the other houses at face value. He had despised Slytherin house and look at what had happened now. He no longer despised Severus. In fact, his feelings right now were anything but that. "Okay, so let's start with my house, let's start with Gryffindor," he said. "Give me three good traits. One at a time, please." There were a few nervous hands around the room. He picked one, a small Gryffindor boy.

"What's your name?" Harry asked.

"Roger Markson, sir," he said. "Gryffindors are brave."

Harry nodded and made two lines in the circle so that there were four equal sections. In one of them, he wrote the word 'brave.' "Yes, that they are. Another one." Two more traits were given - chivalrous and courageous, one by a Hufflepuff and the other by a Ravenclaw. "Now, only three will do. Now, for the negative traits. Again, be mindful of your prejudices." He was trying to call upon someone from each house. This time, he called on a Slytherin, who answered with reckless. Another Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw came up with the other two negative traits that Harry had asked for - arrogance and immaturity.

Harry went through Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff next. For the Ravenclaws, the students came up with intelligent, creative, and witty for the positive traits. For the negative traits, they came up with arrogant, self-absorbed and skeptical. For Hufflepuffs, the good traits given to him were loyal, just and hardworking. The bad traits are given to him where that they were pushovers, passive-aggressive and stagnant.

Harry knew that he had annoyed each of the house when he had gone through their bad traits. "Keep in mind that this is stereotyping," he said. "Not everyone will have these traits, of course, but with good traits comes bad, just like there are two sides of a coin." This would be the hardest one, which is why he had left it for last. "Now, for Slytherin house - and I do not want to hear the words bad or evil or anything come out of anyone's mouths. Do you hear me? I know for a fact that there were Death Eaters from both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, so let's not go there." He was liable to start yelling if they did, and that was probably not the best thing to do right now.

There was some silence in the Great Hall before the students started giving out the good traits - cunning, resourceful, and ambitious. Then, Harry asked for the bad. Again, there was silence, but distrustful, power-hungry and selfish were given to him. "Now, I'm sure by now you are all wondering what in the bloody hell I'm getting at." There was some laughing around the hall. "I said I had a point, and I do. So, when you're fighting the Dark Arts, you need different kinds of people. I'm sure we can all agree on that. Everyone brings something different."

Harry turned slightly towards his floating circle. "Okay, let's go with something that might be a bit easier," he said. "Say, let's get rid of the Gryffindors. What you would be losing?"

A Gryffindor, who looked to be about fifth year, answered. "The fighters, those willing to go out to the front lines."

"Yes, exactly," Harry said. "What about Ravenclaws?"

As expected, it was a Ravenclaw that answered. "The planners. Without them, you don't have a plan, and everyone is just rushing in."

Harry nodded. "Yes, very good. What about the Hufflepuffs? What do you lose?"

A small, Hufflepuff girl answered. "You would lose the glue, to hold everyone together," she said. "Someone has to keep everyone going."

"Yes, very good," Harry said. "Now, what about the Slytherins?" He heard 'nothing' from somewhere. "No, now that's not true! You do lose something. Now tell me what it is."

It was a Slytherin boy, a sixth or seventh year, that answered. "The spies," he said. "The one to do the dirty work that the others afraid to do, and get on the other side."

Harry nodded. "Yes. You may think that you can do without any one house, but you need the traits from all the houses to defeat the Dark Arts," he said. "You have to have everyone together. Without one part, it's not whole, and it becomes a lot harder to get everything done. You need all different types of people, not just the Gryffindors or the Ravenclaws or what have you. You need everyone to do it. When you shut people out, you're only making it easier for people like Voldemort do what they did. Don't think just because he's gone that it means there'll never be another Dark Wizard. You can't have good without evil, and when it does come, remember that you need everyone to succeed."

"I know for a fact that I couldn't have done it without various kinds of people," Harry continued. "And that includes Slytherins." He had answered a few questions before the lecture was over, and people started to go back to whatever it was that they were doing this Saturday afternoon.

The entire thing had gotten him thinking about Severus. He knew that he couldn't give up on him. He could be a persistent bastard when he wanted to be. He would find a way to make him see that, somehow. He just wasn't quite sure how to do it or when and if he would make it happen yet.