A/N: Sorry for the long wait, my summer was beyond crazy. I also feel that I much apologize for any OOC-ness that there is. It bugs me to no end but I can't quite place my finger on what is wrong. Last, but not least, I am sorry for any mistakes that have escaped my gaze. Without further ado, onwards and upwards!

Disclaimer: I must deny any accusations of my participation in the creation of Harry Potter. All such rumors are undeniably false.

Another Thing to Sort Through

Harry Potter was making his way from the Auror office. It had been a long day full of paper work, and he was eagerly looking forward to a quick meal and then crashing on his couch. It had been nearly a year since the fall of Voldemort and life was still hectic, less life threatening, but still hectic. Yes, there had been a few attempts on his life, but those cases had died down. Regretfully, there were still hoards of people seeking even the slightest bit of attention or hint of a relationship- real or otherwise.

Purposefully, he made his way towards the lift. As he headed towards the Atrium, he felt a sudden longing for the Floo. True, Floo-ing was uncomfortable, but Apparition required more energy; energy that he really didn't wish to give. It wasn't that he was afraid of depleting his magical stores, it was more the fact that he wished he could fall asleep where he was. No matter how tired he was, however, didn't stop the truth from being that his Floo wasn't connected to the ministry. The knowledge that the most intricate wards and most complicated passwords could be broken had instilled a healthy dose of paranoia in him. It also helped to know how thoroughly the ministry had been corrupted only a year ago. All in all, he didn't have much confidence in the ministry as a whole.

With a sigh, he stepped into an empty lift. As the grill slid closed he massaged his tired eyes. To be perfectly honest, the never ending normalcy of everything was getting to him. It was like a chapter of his life had closed and there were still so many things unresolved. Despite the unanswered questions, nearly everyone seemed insistent on pushing forward. A feminine voice signaled another floor and the lift stopped. Harry opened his eyes and came face to face with Draco Malfoy.

"Malfoy?" Harry couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

He received a cold look and a curt nod of the head in return. "Potter."

After his abrupt greeting, Malfoy moved to the opposite end of the small enclosed space. Behind him followed two people that he recognized as fellow Aurors. Driven by honest curiosity, he addressed the blond man.

"What are you doing here, then?" Another cold look, then-

"Trying to get rid of these goons." He indicated the two Aurors on either standing on side of him.

Harry was inexplicitly reminded of Crabbe and Goyle. Except, while those two had been there to protect Malfoy, these men were there to watch him.

Silence fell and Harry recalled a time where, if put into this same situation, they would have been at each other's throats. Now, there was an awkward silence. Harry's mouth twitched as he thought that with Ron here silence would have been impossible. Finally, the grill opened to the Atrium and he left. He was just to the Apparition point when he heard his name being called. Turning, he saw Malfoy making his way towards him.

"Potter."

"Yes, Malfoy?"

"Your mother-" Malfoy stopped short and Harry's eyes narrowed. He wasn't about to listen to Malfoy insult his mother. Then, to Harry's surprise, Malfoy went in a completely different direction.

"Professor Snape was my god father, did you know?" Harry shook his head. "Well, he was. We weren't particularly close, but we had a relationship. Severus was always kind, when I really needed it, and he tried to protect me. I wasn't too responsive to his aid and he couldn't very well be more obvious in the position he was in now could he? He left me everything in his will, I suppose I was the only one there was really."

To say Harry was confused and more than a bit skeptical was a given. He could not understand why his school enemy would suddenly decide to bare his soul to him, the one who had put the other man's father in jail – arguably more than once. Not to mention the several times that Harry had insulted him and his family.

"I'm sure he was grateful he had you." Harry said, mostly just so that he could say something. Personally, he highly doubted that his Professor had felt any fondness for the Malfoy's.

"Yes, well… something he left me – I think it'll interest you." That's when things started to click. Talking about Snape's will, the mention of his mother, this whole conversation began to make some sense. Could Malfoy have inherited something to do with his mother?

"Yes?" He tried to appear nonchalant, but he was quite sure his curiosity and hope shone through. A smirk crossed Malfoy's face at Harry's obvious emotions.

"We should move away from any… prying eyes."

Harry looked around and saw that they were indeed attracting several stares. Nodding, he acquiesced to the other boy's suggestion and they made their way to a nearly empty hall off the Atrium. Harry couldn't help but notice how wary the two Aurors appeared. It seemed that they, understandably, didn't like the situation. Harry was keenly aware of how this could be some sort of trap and was already thinking of ways to get out of any trouble, should it arise.

Reaching into his robes, Malfoy pulled out a plain wooden box and his wand. Harry could see that the Aurors were fingering their own beneath their robes. His lips quirked; at least they seemed to know what they were doing. Obviously ignoring the two behind him, the blond-haired man tapped his wand to the chest and it enlarged until it was big enough to hold a large book. Before taking the box when it was causally held out, Harry took precautions to make sure that it truly was safe. Seeing it was he took the box and tucked it under his arm.

"Thank you."

"I have no interest in it. Giving it to you was better than throwing it in the bin, if only marginally."

Nodding, Harry replied, "I suppose I'll see you around, then?"

"Most likely, yes." With that they departed company.

Back in the flat that Harry was currently sharing with Ron, he was sitting down on his couch. In front of him the box rested on his coffee table. Hesitantly he opened the box and his eyes widened at the sight that met him. There were several stacks of letters all addressed in the same hand that had covered the letter from Grimmauld Place. Speaking of which, there were the missing halves of the letter and photo found in his Godfather's home. His hand ghosted over the letters. It was then that another photo caught his eye. He stared at it; his mother's laughing face mesmerizing him. In all of the photos he had of her it was rare to see one where she was caught unaware. He picked it up and leaned back into the sofa, his eyes never leaving the sight of his mother.

He reached out and touched his mother's cheek lightly. He half hoped that the young girl would look away from her companion and flash him a loving smile as if she knew, even then, who was looking at her. She didn't though, and the cycle captured in that moment was never broken. Then she was pulling her hair back, and moments later she was looking towards him, her eyes widening. At that moment the cycle restarted and he knew that it must have been then that the girl caught sight of the camera.

Again, he watched the events play out. He watched their silent banter and felt a flicker of surprise and jealousy at this physical proof of their friendship. The dark-haired boy, who was so different from his cruel counterpart, gave a mock glare when his friend's fiery locks flew into his face. Struggling to gather it all into her hands, his mother gave a cheeky grin in response. Harry was once again surprised as the much younger Severus Snape pulled a tightly rolled scroll from his bag and removed the Slytherin green ribbon from around the parchment. He handed her the emerald tie and she took it and used the ribbon to pull her hair back.

As Lily moved her hair out of the way, Harry could easily read the 'thanks' on her lips. Snape just grinned and stuffed the paper back into his bag. At some point during the inspection he had grown tense and so he worked to relax the muscles and lowered his hands, with the photo in them, into his lap. It really was hard to believe, despite the memories he had received, that Snape and his mum had ever been friends. But all this – the box, the letters, the photo, everything – was indisputable. He tried to match the ornery man he had known with the child he had just observed, but he couldn't wrap his mind around it.

With a sigh, he leaned forwards to put the picture back into the box and closed the lid. He was grateful that Malfoy had given him this, but it was just one more thing he had to sort through. Over time he might be able to think through everything that had happened and come to terms with it. Eventually, all the deaths will not weigh him down so heavily. He will be able to figure out his feelings for the Malfoy's and Snape at some point. For now, however, he would take everything one step at a time for once.

Who knows? Perhaps that box will help him to get to know things about his mother as a young girl that only Snape had been privy to. He shook his head; someday not today. Today he was going to make a sandwich, take a nap, and then head over to the burrow. Today, he was going to relax and take time to enjoy his life. Harry stood and went to the kitchen, a smile on his face as he thought about the red-haired woman he would be seeing later that day. Yes, he is sure that things will turn out in the end.

A/N: Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read this. If you don't mind, would you take a few more moments to review? Thanks again. :D