Warning: slash, detail sex scenes, strong language.

Chapter one

While everyone hugged Harry, slapping his back or like some girls, kissed him, the yelling and cheering was still loud in the ruined great hall. Harry glanced around trying to see where Hermione and Ron were, then he spotted them with Ginny and the other Weasley's. Harry thought a few of them looked angry, some looked upset about something, he could tell by their body language and hand gestures. As he smiled at people who were thanking him he made it look like he was staring at them but actually watching his friends. At one time he read the name Harry on Bill's lips then something about dying on Ron's lips. Harry had no idea what they were talking about but after the last couple of years, he had become to be cautious and suspicious of everyone, to the point he was a little paranoid. But he never thought he would end up suspicious of his friends or the Weasley's. For now though, he'd just act like he didn't see anything suspicious in the way they were behaving, because there could be a logical explanation, he'd have to wait and see.

Harry with the help of Luna he got out of the great hall with Hermione and Ron, he thought his friends seemed to be fine, but something nagged deep inside him. So after finishing with Dumbledore's portrait and they left the large round office, Harry turned to his friends.

'Hermione, can I have those books, I want to check a few things, oh and the destroyed horcruxes,' Harry said sounding casual but tired.

'Yes, of course,' Hermione dug into her small beaded bag and pulled out three large books and the horcruxes, 'Do you want your books or wait until later?'

'Give me those as well, I like having those books with me since Sirius gave them to me,' she put the other books in his arms, 'Okay, thanks, now I'm going to sleep, I can barely stand.'

'Dad said we're all going to Muriel's, mum will expect you to as well. You know how she is, you just can't argue with her. So you might as well just come down with us Harry,' Ron said casually shrugging at the same time.

'Well, I'm going to argue, I'm not going to Muriel's or back to the Burrow. He's dead, it's time I got my own place now I don't need to stay under guard or in hiding. So tell everyone I'll see them in a few days, maybe, I want to rest, I'm absolutely knackered,' Harry didn't wait for them to answer, Ron looked worried and Hermione also looked like she couldn't believe it was Harry. He just turned and walked away, when he was out of their sight, he put the books in a secluded corner, charmed them then pulled the cloak over him and very quietly snuck back and listened.

'He was supposed to die Ron, Dumbledore said he had to, that's when we put together the rest of the plans but nothing seemed to go right. I wonder if Dumbledore suspected us so he never told us something, or someone found out and told him.'

'No, we pretended to be his friend and follow him no matter what. I even had that fight with him just to make it look good and you could have that time alone with him. Maybe I shouldn't have saved him from drowning, but we expected him to die, so I had to, that blasted sword was still needed. I still have no idea who put it there, someone else was helping him without us knowing. But nothing seems to be going right, not now. Mum and dad are furious, Bill said there's no way he can talk the goblins into allowing him to enter the vaults now he's alive. His hope is that since everyone knows Harry stays at the Burrow with us and he doesn't want to go out in public that he's going to let Bill go into his vault, they might allow him to, since he was able to once before. It's good that Harry never got around to making a will otherwise we'd never get anything,' Ron runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. 'Damn I wanted that wand, but I'll never get it now. Since he didn't die for me to take it off him, I figured he'd come back with us, I was going to trick the wand from him while he was exhausted. Have you any idea who that doe patronus belonged too?'

'No, the last doe patronus I could find was Lily Potter's. There's no one she was close to left, and going through the registry found nothing. I know you don't have to register your patronus like you do with an animagus, but most do. I have no idea Ron, but I'm beat, we'll have to work on some other plans. Maybe we could make it look like a death eater caught up with him and killed him in his sleep.'

'Let's talk it over with the family, see what they say. We were expecting Bill to get into the vaults, now we've got nothing, no money at all and we need to go to blasted Muriel's. Oh, I meant to tell you how good you were Hermione, Harry really believed Snape died and you distracted him at the right time. I knew that greasy haired git was up to something, but I still don't know what it was. Why would he give Harry anything, he hated him?'

'I have no idea, but you're right, Snape was up to something, the way he looked at Harry and the way he said his name, but what was the thing about his mother. Anyway, it's been a while since we left the shack so hopefully he has bled to death by now. But Harry said something to Voldemort about Snape, I was just too shocked to listen, did you take any notice?'

'No, I was like you, we all were, we thought he was dead, so I wasn't listening. I was hoping maybe that time it would happen. How in the bloody hell did he beat Voldemort? He's not that powerful, something's not quite right, we must have missed something.'

'Let's go speak with the family, see what they want to do about my idea of killing Harry in his sleep, it might be the only way.' Hermione sighed.

'We'll talk it over, like we do with everything. Aren't we fortunate that Harry seemed to like to spend time alone, gave us all time to be ourselves instead of his simpering friends we had to pretend to be. Come on baby, and at least we don't have to hide the fact we've been fucking each other for more than a year. You made me wait, now I just don't want to.'

'We had to keep up the pretence of liking each other but not telling each other. If Harry suspected we've been together for years, he wouldn't have trusted me as much as he did. I'm glad he never got around to talking to my parents. Their good but not that good, they might have let something slip, or he might have overheard them talking with your dad and mum. I hope there's some Firewhiskey at Muriel's, I could do with a drink.'

Harry watched his so called friends walk away. Even though he was furious, he was also in shock at what he'd been hearing. But he didn't have time to worry about them, Snape might be alive. Harry hurried through the castle, trying to stay quiet. Even though there was still a lot of noise, but after hearing what he did, he had to make sure no one saw him. He took the cloak off, then got through the tunnel into the shrieking shack and saw Snape sitting against the wall, exactly where Harry had left him, but he was alive.

'Professor,' Harry knelt down, 'Sorry, I thought you died, I didn't have time to check.'

'I'm fine Potter and I think you were a bit busy to worry about a man you didn't like. I suspected Voldemort would try to kill me sooner or later, so I was prepared. He always kills everyone then starts with fresh followers, except for the Lestrange's and a few others. I've been trying to hear what has been going on. He said you were dead then I heard the fighting start again, then cheering.'

'Well,' Harry shrugged, 'he's dead, Bellatrix is dead, almost all of his are dead, a few knew they were losing and ran away. The few aurors that were here were able to capture some, but I'm not sure how many escaped.'

'Albus told me there was a chance you might survive but only if you allowed Voldemort to kill you, it seemed to have worked.'

'So you knew?'

'Yes, he filled me in on everything. I have been trying to find you for months. It was luck that I did, Finius Nigelus Black heard Granger say the Forest of Dean.'

'I was wondering who it was until I saw your memory. But I need to speak with you about something serious. See, I'm not sure who to trust anymore, but you promised my mother, you were doing things that were very dangerous just to protect her son, me. That shows me that you are someone I can trust, because right now you're in danger if they figure out your alive and I'm in danger, they want to kill me when I fall asleep.'

'Then help me into the other room, we can rest together and talk. Because you are right, I would do anything to protect the son of a woman that was my best friend.'

Harry got a smile from Snape, something he had never had before. But now was not the time to think about anything except keeping them both alive as well as hidden, at least for now.