Harry Potter: Love's Second Chance

Harry had no trouble staying awake in the double Potions class that followed. Though Snape was also reviewing for OWLs his eyes rarely left Harry. Harry spent the class organizing his own thoughts about the Potions Master.

The person who had been his mother's childhood friend, but had hated her heritage. Someone who would sacrifice the son of the woman he claimed to love without hesitation.

Someone who promised to help protect that son, but made every day a living hell for him. He played the memories the future Snape had given him over and over in his mind. No matter how he tried, the hour of memories that kept flashing through his mind could not undo the six years Snape had tortured Harry mentally, especially knowing he did not love his mother.

Hermione could feel the emotions playing inside of Harry. "Are you alright Harry?" She asked.

"I think so. It's just Snape. I just can't bring myself to reconcile how he treated me all of these years," Harry explained. "I see him, and I still feel all the mental abuse he heaped on me just because of my father. I also see him dying in the Shrieking Shack. I see the memories he gave me. Yes he spied for Dumbledore, but as I was sitting here another thought crossed my mind. Did Snape spy for Dumbledore to help protect me or to make himself feel important?"

"What do you mean?"

"Snape is purely focused on Snape," Harry explained his thoughts. "As a Death Eater he was one of many and not even that important. But as a spy, he would consider himself the most valuable asset of a Wizard even Voldemort feared. Think of when he died. He was asking permission to come try to get to me, not making any real effort to escape from Voldemort's presence. He knew I needed that information, but he refused to openly betray Voldemort all the way to the very end. He continued to play both sides until the last instant the snake sunk his fangs into him. If Voldemort had not killed him and had won, Snape would have been safe. If I won with him still alive he would have been safe. He didn't sacrifice his life for the cause; it was taken from him because of a mistake by Voldemort concerning the Elder Wand."

"What about how he protected the students at Hogwarts?"

"Did he? Again he did just enough to play both sides. He knew I fancied Ginny so he couldn't let her be tortured but what about all of the students who did suffer the Cruciatus curses as punishments? No, I think Snape did just enough to be vindicated if I won."

Hermione thought about Harry's reasoning and looked up as the Potions Professor. "You might be…" She stopped in mid thought, "No, I believe you are right Harry."

When class was finally over, Harry had just managed to put his book and notes into his book bag when the oily voice he'd been expecting caught up to him, "I need a word Potter."

"Want me to stay with you?" Hermione asked.

"No, but don't go far just in case."

Harry turned and faced Snape. "Yes?"

The Potions Master closed the distance and looked Harry in the eyes, "I hope that Occlumency works," He thought.

"Return it Potter."

"Return what sir?" Harry asked innocently.

"You know what you took. You took the Headmaster's Pensieve. You will bring it back and you will bring it back before the end of the day. Am I clear?"

"Sir, I did not take anything. When was it taken sir?"

"You know perfectly well it was taken last evening."

"Well last evening I was at dinner and then in the library. You can check with Madam Pince if you would like. Besides why would I take the Pensieve?" and Harry felt a sensation in his mind as he stared at Snape. He knew it was a passive legilimency attack from Snape. He wanted to smile when a questioning look appear on Snape's face.

"Fight it off Harry," Miranda said. "You know how."

"What?" But Harry realized he did know how. He brought up the memory he had seen in the Pensieve two years ago and he pushed the snippet of when Snape had called his mother a Mudblood at the presence he could feel. The look of anger and astonishment that crossed the Potion Master's face was priceless, but it was only a split second later that his wand was out and the word "Legilimens!" was spoken.

It was the same sensation but a hundred times more powerful this time. Harry recoiled but then he realized memories were not popping up as they always had done before. Harry searched his own memories for ways to retaliate. He remembered his face to face encounter with the Basilisk and mentally threw that memory at the presence. He followed it closely with the face to face meeting with Aragog, and finally he found the memory of experiencing the cruicatus curse at the hands of Voldemort in the graveyard and sent followed the other two memories. Snape staggered backward. A look of bewilderment registered on his face for a split second before he quickly recovered and his normal sneer appeared.

Harry glared at Snape as he scrambled for an explanation. "Occlumency lessons work much better when I trust the person teaching me. As you can see, I no longer need your training so please refrain from perform Legilimency on me again."

Snape's black eyes were boring into Harry. It didn't take Legilimency to figure out that Snape's ideas right now bordered on unforgivables. "Now Professor, I will say this once, I am not my father. No matter how much revenge you want from him, he is dead along with my mother," Harry let the final word sink in and he saw a ghost of pain reflected in Snape's eyes. "Will there be anything else sir?" Harry asked, when no answer came from Snape, he turned and walked out the door. "Thanks Miranda," Harry thought. "I rather liked that."

Harry heard the giggling, "I thought you might. Just remember that he now has questions he's going to try to get answers to. Be careful."

"It isn't like I go looking for trouble."

"No it's more like you place a full page ad in the Daily Prophet requesting trouble be delivered to your doorstep," Miranda replied with a sigh.

Hermione was waiting outside the classroom with her wand in her hand just in case she had been needed. As Harry came out of the door, she wrapped her arms around him. "Are you alright?"

"Brilliant," Harry replied. "The first thing I want our children taught is Occlumency, well maybe riding a broom is first, but Occlumency is definitely early in their lives."

"Our children? Taking something for granted there Harry?"

Harry realized what he had said, "My apologies. Mrs. Potter, will you someday consider being the mother of my children?"

"As long as you don't see me as a Mrs. Weasley pushing out a kid a week while staying home to raise them we can discuss it."

"How does two or three sound to you? Especially an intelligent little girl who looks exactly like her mother," Harry asked with his emerald eyes locked onto hers.

Hermione smiled as she thought of a future family with Harry and two or three children. She herself imagined a small boy with messy black hair. "I think it sounds perfect."

....

Guys my p@treon is live. Join right now to read ahead by more than 30 chapters.

Also you will get the next two chapters for FREE.

Link: p*atreon.com/ScarlettRose00 (Remove the *)