Story long Disclaimer: Hogwarts and all her characters belong to the wonderful J.K. I am, of course, just playing in her sandbox.

Cover Art Credit: upthehillart/art/School-boys-627882420

Chapter One

A Beginning

Snape:

Loose stones scuffle down the street ahead of two figures as they walk down the crowded, cobblestoned street. Severus glances sideways at Draco, observing all the familiar signs of teenage surliness, and feeling just as ill-equipped to deal with it as he always has.

He contemplates opening a dialogue, but knows that Draco—like him—isn't the type to suffer idle chit-chat, and without anything else but the obvious to speak about (which, neither of them seem willing to broach) Severus doesn't see a way out of the excruciating awkwardness of silence.

He grits his teeth and resists the urge to sigh.

How is it he can manage the intricate web of lies he has to weave between serving Dumbledore and the Dark Lord without so much as breaking a sweat, and yet dealing with his Godson on a personal level has him at a loss of words?

Comfort has never been his strong suit.

He can almost picture Dumbledore's non-too-subtle smug smile. 'You need to get to know your students, Severus. To be a teacher you cannot merely teach. You must connect.'

Severus rolls his eyes. God, the man is insufferable. He can't leave Severus alone even on his day off.

His thoughts are broken by the thickening of the crowd, and Severus is jostled sideways into Draco. He scowls, resisting the urge to snarl at the idiot woman who ran into him.

Draco, on the other hand, snaps out a sharp, 'Watch it!' that could cut through ice.

There's a hint of that familiar Malfoy superiority in that tone, but mostly it's just irritation, and Severus wonders if spending so much time with the boy really is a good thing after all.

'Lucius is taking this family down a path I fear we won't come back from. He is no longer a man I want my son to emulate. I need you to guide him, Severus. I need you to be there for Draco where his father can't be.'

How could Narcissa ask him such a thing? Furthermore, how on Earth did she think him any sort of role model? Every choice he has made in life has led to nothing but disappointment and, in some cases, death.

Despite his outward nature, his life is not one he would wish on his Godson.

Next to him, Draco pauses, and Severus turns in the direction that has caught his eye. Through the pressing crowd Severus catches a glimpse of a shiny broom handle, and yet again resists the urge to sigh.

'Go on then,' he mutters, and Draco's gaze flashes over to him, somewhat sheepishly. 'I'll be in the apothecary when you're done. Linger too long and you'll be on your own.'

He adds the last part as an afterthought, half a threat and half a promise, and isn't sure which way he intends to mean it. Besides, they both know that Severus is likely to spend just as much time browsing ingredients as Draco is ogling over broomsticks.

Draco throws him a grin (a rarity these days) and nods, 'of course,' he says, a smirk slips easily into place. 'I would expect nothing less.'

Then he's off, sauntering through the crowd toward the broom display, easily manoeuvring his way through the bodies—as if it were his born right to be at the head of that crowd.

Severus rolled his eyes. 'Sorry Narcissa,' he mutters under his breath. 'But there are some things even I cannot undo.'

He slips into the stuffy, too-dark atmosphere of the little apothecary with a small sense of relief. It's cool in the twilight of the store and there is perhaps one or two other people lurking in the shadowy corners of the aisles. Much better.

'Can I help—'

'The usual Hogwarts supply,' says Severus, cutting the little man off as he comes bustling up to him with an entirely too bright smile. 'Plus extra of everything on the sixth year list—it's all on the Hogwarts file,' he adds at the baffled anxiety that spreads across the clerks face. 'I'll be in your rare and exotics section, I expect you'll be done by the time I come back.'

The sputtering confusion isn't as satisfying as it usually is, and Severus reflects that seeing as he is no longer Potions Master, it seems a waste of his time to still be doing the school's shopping. Yet…he had agreed, hadn't he? And why? He was glad of his new position. It was what he wanted. Furthermore it was what the Dark Lord wanted.

Dumbledore thinks he's doing Severus a favour. That Severus likes going to the apothecary, and, in fact, he does. Yet, that doesn't stop him from seeing the truth. There's only one reason he wanted Severus to do the task, and that is the fact that he doesn't trust Slughorn. Not that Severus blames him. He doesn't trust Slughorn either. After all, if it weren't for him than everything—the Dark Lord, the war—would be very different.

His concentration is broken simultaneously by a shrill scream beyond the walls of the cramped little store, and by the familiar tingle of pain that itches along his left forearm that almost causes him to drop the jar he is holding.

'Damnit,' he hisses and shoves the jar back onto the shelf as several more screams fill the air.

The floor shudders barely a moment before the sound of an explosion pulses through the room.

Severus knows what's happening, but not why? He knew nothing of an attack, though he knew others were clambering for one.

Bloody Bellatrix, he thinks, a second before he realises his biggest problem.

Draco.

Severus bursts out into the chaotic street. People shove and push, desperate to flee the bolts of reds, yellows and oranges being flung throughout the street. At the far end of the street Severus sees four people dressed in the familiar black robes of Death Eaters.

The window display where he'd left Draco is already empty, the mass of people having bolted. Severus scans the fleeing people for a flash of that white hair, but his godson is nowhere to be seen.

'Damn,' he mutters and turns sharply, away from his fellow Death Eaters and shoving through the crowd.

He thinks he hears a familiar cackle of laughter as the Death Eaters push through the street behind him. Glass shatters. Explosions shake the ground. People scream. He sees a flash of red as auror's begin apparating in to defend the street. He hears a shout he recognises, and turns to see one of the Order darting out of a side alley to join the fight. He could stop to help. He should stop to help.

But then what use would he be? Better to stay out of the spotlight and focus on finding Draco.

Severus darts into a nearby storefront where there's a small crowd of people cowering in the back corner.

'Are they still out there?' someone asks, but Severus ignores them.

He's trying to think. Draco is smart. Severus would like to think he's smart enough to have gotten the hell out of Diagon Alley the minute the attack started. He knows Lucius has been training Draco to apparate but he has no idea whether or not the boy has mastered the ability.

Short of apparating, the only other options are Floo or portkey. Seeing that Severus has the portkey that brought them here (and the fact that Draco didn't come to find him immediately) Severus can only assume that Draco was caught in the crowd and has decided on the former option.

Taking a quick look outside the store front, Severus sees the four hooded figures have split up. Two are engaged in a vicious duel with three red-robed aurors, the third is halfway down the street exchanging hexes with a pink-haired witch that can only be Nymphadora Tonks, the forth is missing.

Another explosion rocks the street, and Severus is half thrown from the storefront from the force of it. He throws a hand up instinctively, protecting his face from the shower of glass as the windows shatter, though he barely hears the sound, being half deafened by the sound of the blast.

A shrill laugh echoes out from a street over, and Severus scowls.

'Fucking Bellatrix,' he snarls.

He hesitates, makes a split second decision to trust that Draco was smart enough to get the hell out of there, and darts down the street in the direction of the echoing blasts.

Cover or not, Bellatrix has to be taken care of.

He strides down the street, flinging shields and reinforcement spells at the buildings as he passes. He keeps his head down, trying not to draw attention to himself even as he grabs two teenagers by the scruff of their necks and shoves them toward the gaudy store front of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Both Weasley twins are there in the front, ushering people into the depths of the store, and one of them gives Severus a nod and a wink as they yank the two teens away from Severus and into the store.

'We got it handled here,' he says, and nods after echoing sounds of explosions.

Severus doesn't respond, taking off down the street without a further thought to the duo. If anyone could handle themselves, it was those two; and even as he thinks this, one of the twins shouts something, and a small blast behind him erupts, filling the street with a pungent smell he recognises. Glancing back, a sliver of amusement trickles up his spine as he sees the knee high swamp that the street outside their shop has become.

That amusement vanishes though, as he rounds the corner and sees the blood strewn street beyond.

Two auror's are engaged with Bellatrix, who is still laughing like a madwoman, and beyond her, in a widening pool of blood, lay Harry Potter and—to Severus's horror—Draco.

His breath stops and he is frozen to the spot. Bellatrix is distracted by the auror's and hasn't seen him yet. He has time. Yet he doesn't move. Conflict swarms through him as he realises he'll have to choose. He'll have to choose between either his godson, or the son of the woman he loved.

But before he can, before he can make this impossible choice, Draco (who hasn't seen Severus enter the street) reaches out, his face contorting with pain as he grasps hold of the front of Potter's robes and, with what is clearly a monumental effort, apparatus them away with a loud pop; leaving only two large smears of blood where the two of them had lain.

Note to the reader:

This story has an experimental structure. The narrative is about Harry and Draco, but more often than not the chapters are from the POV of someone else. In the first 18 chapters there are 12 different POV's, and I still have more up my sleeve, so if you're not prepared to jump heads a bit then this story is not for you.

The main narrator is usually Blaise, but I use pretty much whoever I feel is best suited to tell the story for that particular chapter. There's no pattern to the POV I'll be using next.

There are secrets and puzzle pieces behind the fluff, but rest assured that there is a method to my madness; and that (if you're willing to have a little patience) I'm sure that you'll enjoy this story. So far I've had a pretty positive response and I'm excited to share the rest with you. I have many plans and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.